Apparatuses and methods for comparing data patterns in memory

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods related to comparing data patterns in memory. An example method can include comparing a number of data patterns stored in a memory array to a target data pattern. The method can include determining whether a data pattern of the number of data patterns matches the target data pattern without transferring data from the memory array via an input/output (I/O) line.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.14/667,868, filed Mar. 25, 2015, which issues as U.S. Pat. No. 9,934,856on Apr. 3, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/008,149, filed Jun. 5, 2014, and of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/972,621, filed Mar. 31, 2014, the contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to semiconductor memory andmethods, and more particularly, to apparatuses and methods related tocomparing data patterns stored in memory.

BACKGROUND

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor,integrated circuits in computers or other electronic systems. There aremany different types of memory including volatile and non-volatilememory. Volatile memory can require power to maintain its data (e.g.,host data, error data, etc.) and includes random access memory (RAM),dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM),synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and thyristor randomaccess memory (TRAM), among others. Non-volatile memory can providepersistent data by retaining stored data when not powered and caninclude NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, and resistance variablememory such as phase change random access memory (PCRAM), resistiverandom access memory (RRAM), and magnetoresistive random access memory(MRAM), such as spin torque transfer random access memory (STT RAM),among others.

Electronic systems often include a number of processing resources (e.g.,one or more processors), which may retrieve and execute instructions andstore the results of the executed instructions to a suitable location. Aprocessor can comprise a number of functional units such as arithmeticlogic unit (ALU) circuitry, floating point unit (FPU) circuitry, and/ora combinatorial logic block (referred to herein as functional unitcircuitry (FUC)), for example, which can be used to execute instructionsby performing logical operations such as AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, andXOR logical operations on data (e.g., one or more operands). Forexample, the FUC may be used to perform arithmetic operations such asaddition, subtraction, multiplication, and/or division on operands.

A number of components in an electronic system may be involved inproviding instructions to the FUC for execution. The instructions may begenerated, for instance, by a processing resource such as a controllerand/or host processor. Data (e.g., the operands on which theinstructions will be executed) may be stored in a memory array that isaccessible by the FUC. The instructions and/or data may be retrievedfrom the memory array and sequenced and/or buffered before the FUCbegins to execute instructions on the data. Furthermore, as differenttypes of operations may be executed in one or multiple clock cyclesthrough the FUC, intermediate results of the instructions and/or datamay also be sequenced and/or buffered.

Data patterns can be stored in memory, (e.g., in the memory cells of anarray). In various instances, it can be beneficial to determine whetherone or more data patterns stored in memory matches a target datapattern. For example, a data structure such as a table can be stored inmemory, and the entries of the table can be searched (e.g., compared toa particular data pattern) to determine whether one or more of theentries matches the target data pattern. Determining whether a memorystores a target data pattern can involve performing a number of compareoperations (e.g., comparing the target data pattern to each of “N” datapatterns stored in memory), which can take a significant amount of timeand processing resources (e.g., depending on the size of the memory, thesize of the data pattern, and/or the number of data patterns).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus in the form of a computingsystem including a memory device in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a portion of a memory arraycoupled to sensing circuitry in accordance with a number of embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram associated with a method forcomparing data patterns using sensing circuitry in accordance with anumber of embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a portion of a memory arraycoupled to sensing circuitry in accordance with a number of embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 5A illustrates a timing diagram associated with performing a numberof logical operations using sensing circuitry in accordance with anumber of embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5B-1 and 5B-2 illustrate timing diagrams associated withperforming a number of logical operations using sensing circuitry inaccordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5C-1 and 5C-2 illustrate timing diagrams associated withperforming a number of logical operations using sensing circuitry inaccordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of a portion of sensing circuitryin accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrates schematic diagrams of portions of a memory arrayin accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate timing diagrams associated with performing anumber of logical operations using sensing circuitry in accordance witha number of embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating sensing circuitry havingselectable logical operation selection logic in accordance with a numberof embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a logic table illustrating selectable logic operation resultsimplemented by a sensing circuitry in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods for comparingdata patterns in memory. An example method can include comparing anumber of data patterns stored in a memory array to a target datapattern, and determining whether a data pattern of the number of datapatterns matches the target data pattern without transferring data fromthe memory array via an input/output (I/O) line.

A number of embodiments of the present disclosure can enable searchingof a memory in a constant time (e.g., independent of the size of thememory to be searched, the number of table entries to be searched,etc.). For example, in a number of embodiments, the search time dependson the number of data units (e.g., bits) of a target data pattern ratherthan the number of data patterns to be compared to the target datapattern. As used herein, a target data pattern refers to a particulardata pattern that is to be compared to one or more data patterns storedin a memory to determine whether a match exists (e.g., to determinewhether the particular data pattern is stored somewhere in the memoryspace being searched). Determining whether one or more data patternsstored in memory matches a target data pattern, in accordance with anumber of embodiments described herein, can be useful in associationwith performing various functions and/or operations such as a contentaddressable memory (CAM) function, in which an entire memory may besearched to determine if a target data pattern (e.g., data word) isstored therein. In various instances, if a match occurs, an addresswhere the target data pattern was located can be provided (e.g.,returned) to various processing resources (e.g., a controller, host,etc.) for further use. In various instances, the target data pattern(e.g., address) can point to additional data to be used (e.g., by amemory system in association with subsequent process execution). Asdescribed further herein, in embodiments of the present disclosureassociated with performing a “CAM” function, the function may be abinary CAM function and/or a ternary CAM function (e.g., in which athird matching state of “don't care” may be used).

For example, in a number of embodiments, a ternary CAM function caninclude two rows that correspond to each bit. If the two rows each storea different data value (e.g., a first row corresponding to the bitstores a logic “0” and a second row stores a logic “1”), the bit can beindicating a “tri-state” and/or a “don't care” state where either datavalue can be stored and still indicate a match. That is, for example, adata unit set of a target data pattern, consisting of a first data unitand a second data unit, can correspond to a data unit in a data patternto be matched to the target data unit. A target data unit pattern caninclude a data unit set. The data unit set can include a first data unit(e.g., storing a logic “0”) and a second data unit (e.g., storing alogic “1”). A data unit of the data pattern to be matched can storeeither data value (e.g., either logic “0” or logic “1”) to match thedata unit set. When the first and second data unit of the data unit setboth store a same data value (e.g., both store a logic “0” or both storea logic “1”), then the data unit of the data pattern may need to storethe same data value (e.g., a logic “0” or a logic “1”).

As will be described further herein, in a number of embodiments, thedetermination of whether a target data pattern is stored in memory canbe made without transferring data from a memory array via aninput/output (I/O) line (e.g., a local I/O line). For instance, sensingcircuitry (e.g., sensing circuitry described in FIGS. 2 and 4) can beoperated to perform a number of logical operations (e.g., AND, OR, NAND,NOR, NOT) in association with comparing data patterns withouttransferring data via a sense line address access (e.g., without firinga column decode signal). Performing such logical operations usingsensing circuitry, rather than with processing resources external to thesensing circuitry (e.g., by a processor associated with a host and/orother processing circuitry, such as ALU circuitry) can provide benefitssuch as reducing system power consumption, among other benefits.

In the following detailed description of the present disclosure,reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof,and in which is shown by way of illustration how one or more embodimentsof the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art topractice the embodiments of this disclosure, and it is to be understoodthat other embodiments may be utilized and that process, electrical,and/or structural changes may be made without departing from the scopeof the present disclosure. As used herein, the designators “N,” “T,”“U,” etc., particularly with respect to reference numerals in thedrawings, can indicate that a number of the particular features sodesignated can be included. As used herein, “a number of” a particularthing can refer to one or more of such things (e.g., a number of memoryarrays can refer to one or more memory arrays).

The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the first dataunit or data units correspond to the drawing figure number and theremaining data units identify an element or component in the drawing.Similar elements or components between different figures may beidentified by the use of similar data units. For example, 130 mayreference element “30” in FIG. 1, and a similar element may bereferenced as 430 in FIG. 4. As will be appreciated, elements shown inthe various embodiments herein can be added, exchanged, and/oreliminated so as to provide a number of additional embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In addition, as will be appreciated, the proportionand the relative scale of the elements provided in the figures areintended to illustrate certain embodiments of the present invention, andshould not be taken in a limiting sense.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus in the form of a computingsystem 100 including a memory device 120 in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure. As used herein, a memory device120, a memory array 130, and/or sensing circuitry 150 might also beseparately considered an “apparatus.”

System 100 includes a host 110 coupled to memory device 120, whichincludes a memory array 130. Host 110 can be a host system such as apersonal laptop computer, a desktop computer, a digital camera, a mobiletelephone, or a memory card reader, among various other types of hosts.Host 110 can include a system motherboard and/or backplane and caninclude a number of processing resources (e.g., one or more processors,microprocessors, or some other type of controlling circuitry). Thesystem 100 can include separate integrated circuits or both the host 110and the memory device 120 can be on the same integrated circuit. Thesystem 100 can be, for instance, a server system and/or a highperformance computing (HPC) system and/or a portion thereof. Althoughthe example shown in FIG. 1 illustrates a system having a Von Neumannarchitecture, embodiments of the present disclosure can be implementedin non-Von Neumann architectures (e.g., a Turing machine), which may notinclude one or more components (e.g., CPU, ALU, etc.) often associatedwith a Von Neumann architecture.

For clarity, the system 100 has been simplified to focus on featureswith particular relevance to the present disclosure. The memory array130 can be a DRAM array, SRAM array, STT RAM array, PCRAM array, TRAMarray, RRAM array, NAND flash array, and/or NOR flash array, forinstance. The array 130 can comprise memory cells arranged in rowscoupled by access lines (which may be referred to herein as row lines,word lines, or select lines) and columns coupled by sense lines (whichmay be referred to herein as bit lines, digit lines, or data lines).Although a single array 130 is shown in FIG. 1, embodiments are not solimited. For instance, memory device 120 may include a number of arrays130 (e.g., a number of banks of DRAM cells). An example DRAM array isdescribed in association with FIGS. 2 and 4.

The memory device 120 includes address circuitry 142 to latch addresssignals provided over an I/O bus 156 (e.g., a data bus) through I/Ocircuitry 144. Address signals are received and decoded by a row decoder146 and a column decoder 152 to access the memory array 130. Data can beread from memory array 130 by sensing voltage and/or current changes onthe sense lines using sensing circuitry 150. The sensing circuitry 150can read and latch a page (e.g., row) of data from the memory array 130.The I/O circuitry 144 can be used for bi-directional data communicationwith host 110 over the I/O bus 156. The write circuitry 148 is used towrite data to the memory array 130.

Control circuitry 140 decodes signals provided by control bus 154 fromthe host 110. These signals can include chip enable signals, writeenable signals, and address latch signals that are used to controloperations performed on the memory array 130, including data read, datawrite, and data erase operations. In various embodiments, the controlcircuitry 140 is responsible for executing instructions from the host110. The control circuitry 140 can be a state machine, a sequencer, orsome other type of controller (e.g., an on-die controller).

An example of the sensing circuitry 150 is described further below inassociation with FIGS. 2 through 6. For instance, in a number ofembodiments, the sensing circuitry 150 can comprise a number of senseamplifiers (e.g., sense amplifiers 206-1, . . . , 206-U shown in FIG. 2or sense amplifier 406 shown in FIG. 4) and a number of computecomponents (e.g., compute components 231-1 through 231-X shown in FIG. 2and compute component 431 shown in FIG. 4). As illustrated in FIG. 4,the compute components can comprise cross-coupled transistors that canserve as a data latches and can be coupled to other sensing circuitryused to perform a number of logical operations (e.g., AND, NOT, NOR,NAND, XOR, etc.). In a number of embodiments, the sensing circuitry(e.g., 150) can be used to perform logical operations in associationwith comparing data patterns in accordance with embodiments describedherein, without transferring data via a sense line address access (e.g.,without firing a column decode signal). As such, comparisons can beperformed within array 130 using sensing circuitry 150 rather than beingperformed by processing resources external to the sensing circuitry(e.g., by a processor associated with host 110 and/or other processingcircuitry, such as ALU circuitry, located on device 120 (e.g., oncontrol circuitry 140 or elsewhere)). FIG. 2 illustrates a schematicdiagram of a portion of a memory array 201 coupled to sensing circuitryin accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.The memory cells (referred to generally as memory cells 203) of thememory array 201 are arranged in rows coupled to access lines (e.g.,word lines) 204-1, 204-2, 204-3, and 204-4 and in columns coupled tosense lines (e.g., digit lines) 205-1, 205-2, 205-3, 205-4, 205-5,205-S. For instance, access line 204-1 includes cells 203-1, 203-2,203-3, 203-4, 203-5, . . . , 203-T. Memory array 201 is not limited to aparticular number of access lines and/or sense lines. Although notpictured, each column of memory cells can be associated with acorresponding pair of complementary sense lines (e.g., complementarysense lines D 405-1 and D_405-2 described in FIG. 4).

Each column of memory cells can be coupled to sensing circuitry (e.g.,sensing circuitry 150 shown in FIG. 1). In this example, the sensingcircuitry comprises a number of sense amplifiers 206-1, 206-2, 206-3,206-4, 206-5, . . . , 206-U coupled to the respective sense lines. Thesense amplifiers 206-1 to 206-U are coupled to input/output line 234(I/O, e.g., local I/O) via transistors 208-1, 208-2, 208-3, 208-4,208-5, . . . , 208-V. In this example, the sensing circuitry alsocomprises a number of compute components 231-1, 231-2, 231-3, 231-4,231-5, . . . , 231-X coupled to the respective sense lines. Columndecode lines 210-1 to 210-W are coupled to the gates of transistors208-1, 208-2, 208-3, 208-4, 208-5, . . . , 208-V and can be selectivelyenabled to transfer data sensed by respective sense amps 206-1 to 206-Uand/or stored in respective compute components 231-1 to 231-X to asecondary sense amplifier 214.

The data values (e.g., bit values) stored in array 201 can represent anumber of stored data patterns. In this example, the data patternsstored in array 201 each comprise four data units (e.g., bits) and areordered vertically such that the four data units are stored in memorycells coupled to a same sense line. As such, in this example, the memorycells coupled to access lines 204-1 to 204-4 and to sense lines 205-1 to205-5 (e.g., cells 203-1 to 203-20) store five data patterns eachcomprising four bits, which can represent a table with five entries eachcomprising four bits, for instance.

In this example, cells 203-1, 203-6, 203-11, and 203-16 coupled to senseline 205-1 store data values “0,” “1,” “0,” and “0,” respectively (e.g.,data pattern “0100”), cells 203-2, 203-7, 203-12, and 203-17 coupled tosense line 205-2 store data values “0,” “1,” “1,” and “0,” respectively(e.g., data pattern “0110”), cells 203-3, 203-8, 203-13, and 203-18coupled to sense line 205-3 store data values “0,” “1,” “0,” and “1,”respectively (e.g., data pattern “0101”), cells 203-4, 203-9, 203-14,and 203-19 coupled to sense line 205-4 store data values “1”, “0,” “1,”and “1,” respectively (e.g., data pattern “1011”), and cells 203-5,203-10, 203-15, and 203-20 coupled to sense line 205-5 store data values“0,” “0,” “0,” and “0,” respectively (e.g., data pattern “0000”).

As such, in the example shown in FIG. 2, a first bit (e.g., a bit at afirst bit position) of each of the five data patterns is stored in amemory cell coupled to access line 204-1, a second bit (e.g., a bit at asecond bit position) of each of the data patterns is stored in a memorycell coupled to access line 204-2, a third bit (e.g., a bit at a thirdbit position) of the data patterns is stored in a memory cell coupled toaccess line 204-3, and a fourth bit (e.g., a bit at a fourth bitposition) of the data patterns is stored in a memory cell coupled toaccess line 204-4. As such, the bits of the data patterns stored inmemory cells coupled to a same access line have a same bit position.

As an example, the bits stored in the memory cells coupled to accessline 204-1 (e.g., the bits at the first bit position) can correspond tothe least significant bits (LSBs) of the stored data patterns, and thebits stored in the memory cells coupled to access line 204-4 (e.g., thebits at the fourth bit position) can correspond to the most significantbits (MSBs) of the stored data patterns. However, embodiments are not solimited. For instance, the bits at the first bit position can correspondto MSBs and the bits at the fourth bit position can correspond to LSBs,in a number of embodiments.

As described further below, a number of embodiments of the presentdisclosure can be used to determine whether a target data pattern isstored in an array such as array 201. For instance, sensing circuitrysuch as that shown in FIG. 2 can be used to determine whether one ormore data patterns stored in the cells of array 201 matches a targetdata pattern. Embodiments can also include determining which particularsense line(s) (e.g., sense lines 205-1 to 205-S) is coupled to cellsstoring a data pattern that matches the target data pattern. In a numberof embodiments, determining whether one or more data patterns stored inthe array matches a target data pattern is independent of the number ofstored data patterns. For instance, in a number of embodiments, anamount of time to determine whether one or more stored data patternsmatches a target data pattern depends on a quantity of data units (e.g.,bits) in the target data pattern, but not on the quantity of datapatterns stored in the array. As an example, in a number of embodiments,the amount of time needed to determine whether one or more of the fivestored data patterns (each comprising four bits) matches a particularfour-bit bit pattern (e.g., a four-bit target data pattern) can be thesame as the amount of time needed to determine whether one or more ofone hundred stored data patterns (each comprising four bits) matches thetarget data pattern.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram associated with a method forcomparing data patterns using sensing circuitry in accordance with anumber of embodiments of the present disclosure. The array 301corresponds to a portion of the memory array 201 described in FIG. 2.For instance, sense lines 305-1 to 305-5 correspond to sense lines 205-1to 205-5 and access lines 304-1 to 304-4 correspond to access lines204-1 to 204-4. The memory cells of array 301 shown in FIG. 3 store thesame data patterns as those stored in array 201. As such, the cellscoupled to sense line 305-1 store data pattern “0100,” the cells coupledto sense line 305-2 store data pattern “0110,” the cells coupled tosense line 305-3 store data pattern “0101,” the cells coupled to senseline 305-4 store data pattern “1011,” and the cells coupled to senseline 305-5 store data pattern “0000.” The array 301 can be a DRAM array,for example, and although not shown, the sense lines 305-1 to 305-5 cancomprise respective complementary sense line pairs.

Although not shown in FIG. 3, as described in association with FIG. 2,each of the sense lines 305-1 to 305-5 can be coupled to sensingcircuitry (e.g., a sense amplifier 206-1 to 206-U and compute components231-1 to 231-X as shown in FIG. 2). The example shown in FIG. 3illustrates the data values stored in the compute components 331-1 to331-5 coupled to the respective sense lines 305-1 to 305-5 after anumber of operation phases 352-1 to 352-6 associated with comparing datapatterns in accordance with a number of embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In the example described in FIG. 3, the operation phases352-1 to 352-6 are associated with determining whether one or more ofthe data patterns stored in array 301 matches a target data pattern(e.g., “0101” in this example). Although six operation phases are shownin FIG. 3, embodiments are not so limited. For instance, the quantity ofoperation phases may be more or fewer than six and can depend on thequantity of data units (e.g., bits) of the target data pattern. However,in a number of embodiments, the quantity of operation phases isindependent of the quantity of data patterns being searched.

In a number of embodiments, determining whether a target data pattern of“N” bits is stored one or more times in an array (e.g., 301) can includeresetting the compute components (e.g., 331-1 to 331-5) to a known datavalue (e.g., logic “0”). Subsequently, a first “for loop” can beperformed, in which for data units 1 to N of the target data pattern(where “1” is a first data unit position and “N” is the Nth unitposition) that have a particular data value (e.g., logic “0”), theparticular data value is compared to data values of the data units ofthe stored data patterns having the same data unit positions as the dataunit positions of those data units of the target data pattern having theparticular data value (e.g., “0”). For example, if the target datapattern is an 8 bit pattern (e.g., N=8) and the bits at bit positions 1,2, 6, and 7 have a data value of “0,” then the data values of the 1^(st)bits of each of the stored data patterns would be compared to “0,”followed by the data values of the 2^(nd) bits of each of the storeddata patterns being compared to “0,” followed by the data values of the6^(th) bits of each of the stored data patterns being compared to “0,”and then the data values of the 7^(th) bits of each of the stored datapatterns would be compared to “0.” The sensing circuitry coupled to thesense lines 305-1 to 305-5 can be operated such that the computecomponents (e.g., 331-1 to 331-5) store an indication of which senselines are coupled to cells that match or do not match data value “0” atthe evaluated bit positions (e.g., 1, 2, 6, and 7). For instance,compute components storing a “1” in this phase may indicate that the bitpatterns stored in the cells coupled to the corresponding sense lines donot match the target data pattern (e.g., at one or more of the evaluatedbit positions), and compute components storing a “0” in this phase mayindicate that the bit patterns stored in the cells coupled to thecorresponding sense lines match the target data pattern at each of theevaluated bit positions). Subsequent to the first “for loop,” the datavalues stored in the compute components can be inverted (e.g., viaoperation of the sensing circuitry as described further below), and asecond “for loop” can be performed in which for data units 1 to N of thetarget data pattern that have a different particular data value (e.g.,logic “1”), the different particular data value is compared to datavalues of data units of the stored data patterns having the same dataunit positions as the data unit positions of those data units of thetarget data pattern having the different particular data value (e.g.,“1”). For instance, in the above example, if the bits at bit positions3, 4, 5, and 8 have a data value of “1,” then the data values of the3^(rd) bits of each of the stored data patterns would be compared to“1,” followed by data values of the 4^(th) bits of each of the storeddata patterns being compared to “1,” followed by data values of the5^(th) bits of each of the stored data patterns being compared to “1,”and then the data values of the 8th bits of each of the stored datapatterns would be compared to “1.” After completion of the second “forloop,” the data values stored in the compute components (e.g., 331-1 to331-5) can indicate which, if any, of the corresponding sense lines arecoupled to cells storing the target data pattern. The data values storedin the compute components (e.g., 331-1 to 331-5) can then be read, forexample, to determine whether one or more of the data patterns stored inthe array (e.g., 301) matches the target data pattern and/or whichparticular sense line(s) (e.g., 305-1 to 305-5) are coupled to cellsstoring the target data pattern.

In the above example, those compute components storing a “1” wouldindicate corresponding sense lines having cells coupled thereto storinga data pattern matching the target data pattern. However, if the above“for loops” were performed in reverse order (e.g., the second for loopbeing performed before the first for loop), then a “0” stored in acompute component would indicate a data pattern match.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, operation phase 352-1 includes storing aknown data value (e.g., “0” or “1”) in each of the compute components331-1 to 331-5, which may be referred to as “resetting” or “clearing”the compute components. Resetting the compute components can include,for example, reading a “0” data value into the compute components byenabling a particular access line (not shown) coupled to cells eachcoupled to a respective one of sense lines 305-1 to 305-5 and eachstoring a “0.” As such, as shown in FIG. 3, after operation phase 352-1,each of the compute components 331-1 to 331-5 stores a data value “0.”Operation of sensing circuitry to perform a sensing (e.g., read)operation is described further below in association with FIGS. 4 and 6.

The example described in FIG. 3 includes performing a number ofoperations to determine whether a target data pattern (e.g., “0101”) isstored in array 301. Therefore, as part of the first “for loop”described above, those data units of the target data pattern having adata value of “0” are compared to data units of the stored data patternshaving the same data unit positions as the data unit positions of thosedata units of the target data pattern having the data value “0.” Since,in this example, the first and third bits of the target data pattern arelogic “0,” the data values of the first and third bits of the storeddata patterns are compared to “0” as part of the first for loop.

To compare the data values of the first bits of the stored data patternsto “0,” the access line coupled to cells corresponding to the first bitposition (e.g., access line 304-1) can be enabled, and a particularcontrol signal (e.g., “Passdb” as described further in association withFIG. 4) can then be activated (e.g., fired), which operates the sensingcircuitry to perform a logical “OR” operation and results in alteringthe data values (e.g., from “0” to “1”) stored in those computecomponents corresponding to first bit position cells that do not store a“0.” In this example, since the only cell coupled to access line 304-1that stores a “1” is coupled to sense line 305-4, only the data valuestored in compute component 331-4 changes from “0” to “1” afteroperation phase 352-2 (e.g., the remaining compute components retaintheir stored data values of “0”).

To compare the data values of the third bits of the stored data patternsto “0,” the access line coupled to cells corresponding to the third bitposition (e.g., access line 305-3) can be enabled, and the particularcontrol signal (e.g., “Passdb”) can again be activated (e.g., inassociation with performing a logical “OR” operation), which results inaltering the data value stored in compute component 331-2 (e.g., from“0” to “1”). Although the third bit position cell coupled to sense line304-4 also stored a “1,” the data value of the corresponding computecomponent 331-4 does not change (e.g., it retains the stored data value“1”). As such, after operation phase 352-3, the data values stored inthe compute components 331-1 to 331-5 are “0,” “1,” “0,” “1,” “0,”respectively, as shown.

Subsequent to comparing those data units of the target data patternhaving a data value of “0” to data units of the stored data patternshaving the same data unit positions as the data unit positions of thosedata units of the target data pattern having the data value “0,” thedata values stored in the compute components 331-1 to 331-5 can beinverted. The data values in the compute components can be inverted viaactivation of a control signal (e.g., “InvD”) as described inassociation with FIG. 4. After the inversion operation phase 352-4, therespective data values of compute components 331-1 to 331-5 are “1,”“0,” “1,” “0,” “1.”

Subsequent to the inversion operation, and as part of the second “forloop” described above, those data units of the target data pattern(e.g., 0101) having a data value of “1” are compared to data units ofthe stored data patterns having the same data unit positions as the dataunit positions of those data units of the target data pattern having thedata value “1.” Since, in this example, the second and fourth bits ofthe target data pattern are logic “1,” the data values of the second andfourth bits of the stored data patterns are compared to “1” as part ofthe second for loop.

To compare the data values of the second bits of the stored datapatterns to “1,” the access line coupled to cells corresponding to thesecond bit position (e.g., access line 304-2) can be enabled, and aparticular control signal (e.g., “Passd” as described further inassociation with FIG. 4) can then be activated, which operates thesensing circuitry to perform a logical “AND” operation. As a result, thedata values stored in those compute components corresponding to secondbit position cells that store a “0” are altered (e.g., from “1” to “0”)if the compute component previously stored a “1,” or they remain a “0”if they previously stored a “0.” As such, after operation phase 352-5,the compute components 331-1 to 331-5 store “1,” “0,” “1,” “0,” “0,”respectively, as shown.

To compare the data values of the fourth bits of the stored datapatterns to “1,” the access line coupled to cells corresponding to thefourth bit position (e.g., access line 305-4) can be enabled, and theparticular control signal (e.g., “Passd”) can again be activated (e.g.,in association with performing a logical “AND” operation), which resultsin altering the data value stored in compute component 331-1 (e.g., from“1” to “0”), while the data values in the compute components 331-2 to331-5 retain their previous stored data values. As such, after operationphase 352-6, the data values stored in the compute components 331-1 to331-5 are “0,” “0,” “1,” “0,” “0,” respectively, as shown. In thisexample, the data values stored in the compute components 331-1 to 331-5after operation phase 352-6 indicate which, if any, of the stored datapatterns match the target data pattern (e.g., 0101). For instance,compute components having a stored data value of “1” after operationphase 352-6 (e.g., after performance of the second “for loop”) indicatea corresponding sense line is coupled to cells storing the target datapattern. In this example, only compute component 331-3 stores data value“1” after completion of the second for loop. As such, only the cellscoupled to corresponding sense line 305-3 store a data pattern matchingthe target data pattern.

In a number of embodiments, one or more particular data units (e.g.,bits) of a target data pattern may be presented as a mask such that thevalues of the particular data units (e.g., the bit values at one or moreparticular bit positions of the target data pattern) are disregardedwhen comparing the target data pattern to a number of stored datapatterns to determine whether a match exists. For instance, if thetarget data pattern is 010X, with “X” indicating a masked bit at thefourth bit position, then stored data patterns of “0101” and “0100” willbe determined to match the target data pattern. In a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure, determining whether one or morestored data patterns matches a target data pattern comprising one ormore masked data units includes not enabling access lines correspondingto the data unit positions of the masked data units. That is, the dataunits of the stored data patterns having the same data unit positions asthe masked data units of the target data pattern are not compared to themasked data units since the values of the stored data units at thosepositions are irrelevant (e.g., the data units of the stored datapatterns at the data unit positions of the masked data units areconsidered to match regardless of the values of the data units at thosedata unit positions).

In a number of embodiments, an operation such as a “BlockOR” operationcan be performed in association with determining if the memory cellscoupled to one or more (e.g., any) particular sense line store a datapattern that matches the target data pattern. For example, knowingwhether one or more matches to the target data pattern are stored in anarray may be useful information, even without knowing which particularsense line(s) is coupled to cells storing the matching data pattern. Insuch instances, the determination of whether any of the sense lines arecoupled to cells storing a match of the target data pattern can includecharging (e.g., precharging) a local I/O line (e.g., local I/O line 234)coupled to a secondary sense amplifier (e.g., 214) to a particularvoltage. The I/O line (e.g., 234) can be precharged via controlcircuitry such as control circuitry 140 shown in FIG. 1 and/or sensingcircuitry such as circuitry 150 shown in FIG. 1, for instance, to avoltage such as a supply voltage (e.g., Vcc) or a ground voltage (e.g.,0V).

Performing a BlockOR operation (which may be referred to as an“AccumulatorBlockOr”), the column decode lines (e.g., 210-1 to 210-W)coupled to the selected sensing circuitry (e.g., compute components) canbe enabled in parallel (e.g., such that respective transistors 208-1 to208-V are turned on) in order to transfer the voltages of the componentsof the sensing circuitry (e.g., sense amplifiers 206 and/or computecomponents 231) to the local I/O line (e.g., 234). The secondary senseamplifier (e.g., SSA 214) can sense whether the precharged voltage ofthe local I/O line changes (e.g., by more than a threshold amount)responsive to enablement of the column decode lines.

For instance, if the I/O line 234 is precharged to a ground voltage andone or more of the selected compute components (e.g., 231-1 to 231-X)stores a logic 1 (e.g., 0V) to represent a match, then the SSA 214 cansense a pull up (e.g., increase) of the voltage on I/O line 234 todetermine whether any stored data pattern matches the target datapattern (e.g., whether at least one of the compute components stores a“1”). Alternatively, if the I/O line 234 is precharged to Vcc and one ormore of the selected sensing circuitry components (e.g., computecomponents) stores a logic 0 (e.g., Vcc) to represent a match, then theSSA 214 can sense a pull down (e.g., decrease) of the voltage on I/Oline 234 to determine whether any stored data pattern matches the targetdata pattern (e.g., whether at least one of the compute componentsstores a “0”). The determination of whether one or more computecomponents coupled to selected column decode lines stores a particulardata value (e.g., a match data value of “1”) is effectively performing alogic “OR” operation. In this manner, voltages corresponding to datasensed by the sense amps 206-1 to 206-U and/or stored in computecomponents 231-1 to 231-X can be transferred, in parallel, to the localI/O line 234 and sensed by SSA 214 as part of a BlockOR operation.Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to particularprecharge voltages of local I/O line 234 and/or to particular voltagevalues corresponding to logic 1 or logic 0.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a portion of a memory array430 coupled to sensing circuitry in accordance with a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, the memory array430 is a DRAM array of 1T1C (one transistor one capacitor) memory cellseach comprised of an access device 402 (e.g., transistor) and a storageelement 403 (e.g., a capacitor). Embodiments, however, are not limitedto this example and other storage element array types may be included(e.g., cross point arrays having PCRAM memory elements, etc.). The cellsof array 430 are arranged in rows coupled by access lines 404-0 (Row0),404-1 (Row1), 404-2, (Row2) 404-3 (Row3), . . . , 404-N (RowN) andcolumns coupled by sense lines (e.g., digit lines) 305-1 (D) and 405-2(D_). In this example, each column of cells is associated with a pair ofcomplementary sense lines 405-1 (D) and 405-2 (D_).

In a number of embodiments, a compute component (e.g., 431) can comprisea number of transistors formed on pitch with the transistors of a senseamp (e.g., 406) and/or the memory cells of the array (e.g., 430), whichmay conform to a particular feature size (e.g., 4F², 6F², etc.). Asdescribed further below, the compute component 431 can, in conjunctionwith the sense amp 406, operate to perform various operations associatedwith comparing data patterns without transferring data via a sense lineaddress access (e.g., without firing a column decode signal such thatdata is transferred to circuitry external from the array and sensingcircuitry via local I/O lines (e.g., 234 in FIG. 2)).

In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the circuitry corresponding tocompute component 431 comprises five transistors coupled to each of thesense lines D and D_; however, embodiments are not limited to thisexample. Transistors 407-1 and 407-2 have a first source/drain regioncoupled to sense lines D and D_, respectively, and a second source/drainregion coupled to a cross coupled latch (e.g., coupled to gates of apair of cross coupled transistors, such as cross coupled NMOStransistors 408-1 and 408-2 and cross coupled PMOS transistors 409-1 and409-2). As described further herein, the cross coupled latch comprisingtransistors 408-1, 408-2, 409-1, and 409-2 can be referred to as asecondary latch, which can serve as and be referred to herein as anaccumulator (a cross coupled latch corresponding to sense amp 406 can bereferred to herein as a primary latch).

The transistors 407-1 and 407-2 can be referred to as pass transistors,which can be enabled via respective signals 411-1 (Passd) and 411-2(Passdb) in order to pass the voltages or currents on the respectivesense lines D and D_(—) to the inputs of the cross coupled latchcomprising transistors 408-1, 408-2, 409-1, and 409-2 (e.g., the inputof the secondary latch). In this example, the second source/drain regionof transistor 407-1 is coupled to a first source/drain region oftransistors 408-1 and 409-1 as well as to the gates of transistors 408-2and 409-2. Similarly, the second source/drain region of transistor 407-2is coupled to a first source/drain region of transistors 408-2 and 409-2as well as to the gates of transistors 408-1 and 409-1.

A second source/drain region of transistor 408-1 and 408-2 is commonlycoupled to a negative control signal 412-1 (Accumb). A secondsource/drain region of transistors 409-1 and 409-2 is commonly coupledto a positive control signal 412-2 (Accum). An activated Accum signal412-2 can be a supply voltage (e.g., Vcc) and an activated Accumb signalcan be a reference voltage (e.g., ground). Activating signals 412-1 and412-2 enables the cross coupled latch comprising transistors 408-1,408-2, 409-1, and 409-2 corresponding to the secondary latch. Theenabled cross coupled latch operates to amplify a differential voltagebetween common node 417-1 and common node 417-2 such that node 417-1 isdriven to one of the Accum signal voltage and the Accumb signal voltage(e.g., to one of Vcc and ground), and node 417-2 is driven to the otherof the Accum signal voltage and the Accumb signal voltage. As describedfurther below, the signals 412-1 and 412-2 are labeled “Accum” and“Accumb” because the secondary latch can serve as an accumulator whilebeing used to perform a logical operation (e.g., an AND operation). In anumber of embodiments, a compute component comprises the cross coupledtransistors 408-1, 408-2, 409-1, and 409-2 forming the secondary latchas well as the pass transistors 407-1 and 408-2.

In this example, the compute component 431 also includes invertingtransistors 414-1 and 414-2 having a first source/drain region coupledto the respective digit lines D and D_. A second source/drain region ofthe transistors 414-1 and 414-2 is coupled to a first source/drainregion of transistors 416-1 and 416-2, respectively. The secondsource/drain region of transistors 416-1 and 416-2 can be coupled to aground. The gates of transistors 414-1 and 314-2 are coupled to a signal413 (InvD). The gate of transistor 416-1 is coupled to the common node417-1 to which the gate of transistor 408-2, the gate of transistor409-2, and the first source/drain region of transistor 408-1 are alsocoupled. In a complementary fashion, the gate of transistor 416-2 iscoupled to the common node 417-2 to which the gate of transistor 408-1,the gate of transistor 409-1, and the first source/drain region oftransistor 408-2 are also coupled. As such, an invert operation can beperformed by activating signal InvD, which inverts the data value storedin the secondary latch and drives the inverted value onto sense lines405-1 and 405-2.

In a number of embodiments, and as indicated above in association withFIGS. 2 and 3, the compute component can be used to perform, forinstance, AND and OR operations in association with comparing datapatterns. For example, a data value stored in a particular cell can besensed by a corresponding sense amp 406. The data value can betransferred to the data latch of the compute component 431 by activatingthe Passd (411-1) and Passdb (411-2) signals as well as the Accumb(412-1) and Accum signals (412-2). To AND the data value stored in thecompute component with a data value stored in a different particularcell coupled to a same sense line, the access line to which thedifferent particular cell is coupled can be enabled. The sense amp 406can be enabled (e.g., fired), which amplifies the differential signal onsense lines 405-1 and 405-2. Enabling only Passd (411-1) (e.g., whilemaintaining Passdb (411-2) in a disabled state) results in accumulatingthe data value corresponding to the voltage signal on sense line 405-1(e.g., Vcc corresponding to logic “1” or ground corresponding to logic“0”). The Accumb and Accum signals remain activated during the ANDoperation.

Therefore, if the data value stored in the different particular cell(and sensed by sense amp 406) is a logic “0”, then value stored in thesecondary latch of the compute component is asserted low (e.g., groundvoltage such as 0V), such that it stores a logic “0.” However, if thevalue stored in the different particular cell (and sensed by sense amp406) is not a logic “0,” then the secondary latch of the computecomponent retains its previous value. Therefore, the compute componentwill only store a logic “1” if it previously stored a logic “1” and thedifferent particular cell also stores a logic “1.” Hence, the computecomponent 431 is operated to perform a logic AND operation. As notedabove, the invert signal 413 can be activated in order to invert thedata value stored by the compute component 431, which can be used, forexample, in performing a NAND operation.

FIG. 5A illustrates a timing diagram 585-1 associated with performing anumber of logical operations using sensing circuitry in accordance witha number of embodiments of the present disclosure. Timing diagram 585-1illustrates signals (e.g., voltage signals) associated with performing afirst operation phase of a logical operation (e.g., an R-input logicaloperation). The first operation phase described in FIG. 5A can be afirst operation phase of an AND, NAND, OR, or NOR operation, forinstance. As described further below, performing the operation phaseillustrated in FIG. 5A can involve consuming significantly less energy(e.g., about half) than previous processing approaches, which mayinvolve providing a full swing between voltage rails (e.g., between asupply and ground) to perform a compute operation.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 5A, the voltage rails correspondingto complementary logic values (e.g., “1” and “0”) are a supply voltage574 (VDD) and a ground voltage 572 (Gnd). Prior to performing a logicaloperation, equilibration can occur such that the complementary senselines D and D are shorted together at an equilibration voltage 525(VDD/2). Equilibration is described further below in association withFIG. 6.

At time t₁, the equilibration signal 526 is deactivated, and then aselected access line (e.g., row) is enabled (e.g., the row correspondingto a memory cell whose data value is to be sensed and used as a firstinput). Signal 504-0 represents the voltage signal applied to theselected row (e.g., row 404-0 in FIG. 4). When row signal 504-0 reachesthe threshold voltage (Vt) of the access transistor (e.g., 402)corresponding to the selected cell, the access transistor turns on andcouples the sense line D to the selected memory cell (e.g., to thecapacitor 403 if the cell is a 1T1C DRAM cell), which creates adifferential voltage signal between the sense lines D and D_(—) (e.g.,as indicated by signals 505-1 and 505-2, respectively) between times t₂and t₃. The voltage of the selected cell is represented by signal 503.Due to conservation of energy, creating the differential signal betweenD and D_(—) (e.g., by coupling the cell to sense line D) does notconsume energy, since the energy associated with activating/deactivatingthe row signal 504 can be amortized over the plurality of memory cellscoupled to the row.

At time t₃, the sense amp (e.g., 406) is enabled (e.g., the positivecontrol signal 531 (e.g., PSA 631 shown in FIG. 6) goes high, and thenegative control signal 528 (e.g., RNL_628) goes low), which amplifiesthe differential signal between D and D_, resulting in a voltage (e.g.,VDD) corresponding to a logic 1 or a voltage (e.g., ground)corresponding to a logic 0 being on sense line D (and the other voltagebeing on complementary sense line D_), such that the sensed data valueis stored in the primary latch of sense amp 406. The primary energyconsumption occurs in charging the sense line D (505-1) from theequilibration voltage VDD/2 to the rail voltage VDD.

At time t₄, the pass transistors 407-1 and 407-2 are enabled (e.g., viarespective Passd and Passdb control signals applied to control lines411-1 and 411-2, respectively, in FIG. 4). The control signals 411-1 and411-2 are referred to collectively as control signals 511. As usedherein, various control signals, such as Passd and Passdb, may bereferenced by referring to the control lines to which the signals areapplied. For instance, a Passd signal can be referred to as controlsignal 411-1. At time t₅, the control signals Accumb and Accum areactivated via respective control lines 412-1 and 412-2. As describedbelow, the control signals (e.g., control signals 512-1 and 512-2) mayremain activated for subsequent operation phases. As such, in thisexample, activating the control signals 512-1 and 512-2 enables thesecondary latch of the compute component (e.g., 431). The sensed datavalue stored in sense amp 406 is transferred (e.g., copied) to thesecondary latch of compute component 431.

At time t₆, the pass transistors 407-1 and 407-2 are disabled (e.g.,turned off); however, since the control signals 512-1 and 512-2 remainactivated, an accumulated result is stored (e.g., latched) in thesecondary latch of compute component 431. At time t₇, the row signal504-0 is deactivated, and the array sense amps are disabled at time t₈(e.g., sense amp control signals 528 and 531 are deactivated).

At time t₉, the sense lines D and D_(—) are equilibrated (e.g.,equilibration signal 526 is activated), as illustrated by sense linevoltage signals 505-1 and 505-2 moving from their respective rail valuesto the equilibration voltage 525 (VDD/2). The equilibration consumeslittle energy due to the law of conservation of energy. As describedbelow in association with FIG. 6, equilibration can involve shorting thecomplementary sense lines D and D_(—) together at an equilibrationvoltage, which is VDD/2, in this example. Equilibration can occur, forinstance, prior to a memory cell sensing operation.

FIGS. 5B-1 and 5B-2 illustrate timing diagrams 585-2 and 585-3,respectively, associated with performing a number of logical operationsusing sensing circuitry in accordance with a number of embodiments ofthe present disclosure. Timing diagrams 585-2 and 585-3 illustratesignals (e.g., voltage signals) associated with performing a number ofintermediate operation phases of a logical operation (e.g., an R-inputlogical operation). For instance, timing diagram 285-2 corresponds to anumber of intermediate operation phases of an R-input NAND operation oran R-input AND operation, and timing diagram 585-3 corresponds to anumber of intermediate operation phases of an R-input NOR operation oran R-input OR operation. For example, performing an AND or NANDoperation can include performing the operation phase shown in FIG. 5B-1one or more times subsequent to an initial operation phase such as thatdescribed in FIG. 5A. Similarly, performing an OR or NOR operation caninclude performing the operation phase shown in FIG. 5B-2 one or moretimes subsequent to an initial operation phase such as that described inFIG. 5A.

As shown in timing diagrams 585-2 and 585-3, at time t₁, equilibrationis disabled (e.g., the equilibration signal 526 is deactivated), andthen a selected row is enabled (e.g., the row corresponding to a memorycell whose data value is to be sensed and used as an input such as asecond input, third input, etc.). Signal 504-1 represents the voltagesignal applied to the selected row (e.g., row 404-1 in FIG. 4). When rowsignal 504-1 reaches the threshold voltage (Vt) of the access transistor(e.g., 402) corresponding to the selected cell, the access transistorturns on and couples the sense line D to the selected memory cell (e.g.,to the capacitor 403 if the cell is a 1T1C DRAM cell), which creates adifferential voltage signal between the sense lines D and D_(—) (e.g.,as indicated by signals 505-1 and 505-2, respectively) between times t₂and t₃. The voltage of the selected cell is represented by signal 503.Due to conservation of energy, creating the differential signal betweenD and D_(—) (e.g., by coupling the cell to sense line D) does notconsume energy, since the energy associated with activating/deactivatingthe row signal 504 can be amortized over the plurality of memory cellscoupled to the row.

At time t₃, the sense amp (e.g., 406) is enabled (e.g., the positivecontrol signal 531 (e.g., PSA 631 shown in FIG. 6) goes high, and thenegative control signal 528 (e.g., RNL_628) goes low), which amplifiesthe differential signal between D and D_, resulting in a voltage (e.g.,VDD) corresponding to a logic 1 or a voltage (e.g., ground)corresponding to a logic 0 being on sense line D (and the other voltagebeing on complementary sense line D_), such that the sensed data valueis stored in the primary latch of a sense amp (e.g., sense amp 406). Theprimary energy consumption occurs in charging the sense line D (405-1)from the equilibration voltage VDD/2 to the rail voltage VDD.

As shown in timing diagrams 585-2 and 585-3, at time t₄ (e.g., after theselected cell is sensed), only one of control signals 411-1 (Passd) and411-2 (Passdb) is activated (e.g., only one of pass transistors 407-1and 407-2 is enabled), depending on the particular logic operation. Forexample, since timing diagram 585-2 corresponds to an intermediate phaseof a NAND or AND operation, control signal 411-1 is activated at time t4and control signal 411-2 remains deactivated. Conversely, since timingdiagram 585-3 corresponds to an intermediate phase of a NOR or ORoperation, control signal 411-2 is activated at time t4 and controlsignal 411-1 remains deactivated. Recall from above that the controlsignals 512-1 (Accumb) and 512-2 (Accum) were activated during theinitial operation phase described in FIG. 5A, and they remain activatedduring the intermediate operation phase(s).

Since the compute component was previously enabled, activating onlyPassd (411-1) results in accumulating the data value corresponding tothe voltage signal 505-1. Similarly, activating only Passdb (411-2)results in accumulating the data value corresponding to the voltagesignal 505-2. For instance, in an example AND/NAND operation (e.g.,timing diagram 585-2) in which only Passd (411-1) is activated, if thedata value stored in the selected memory cell (e.g., a Row1 memory cellin this example) is a logic 0, then the accumulated value associatedwith the secondary latch is asserted low such that the secondary latchstores logic 0. If the data value stored in the Row1 memory cell is nota logic 0, then the secondary latch retains its stored Row0 data value(e.g., a logic 1 or a logic 0). As such, in this AND/NAND operationexample, the secondary latch is serving as a zeroes (0s) accumulator.Similarly, in an example OR/NOR operation (e.g., timing diagram 585-3)in which only Passdb is activated, if the data value stored in theselected memory cell (e.g., a Row1 memory cell in this example) is alogic 1, then the accumulated value associated with the secondary latchis asserted high such that the secondary latch stores logic 1. If thedata value stored in the Row1 memory cell is not a logic 1, then thesecondary latch retains its stored Row0 data value (e.g., a logic 1 or alogic 0). As such, in this OR/NOR operation example, the secondary latchis effectively serving as a ones (1s) accumulator since voltage signal405-2 on D_(—) is setting the true data value of the accumulator.

At the conclusion of an intermediate operation phase such as that shownin FIGS. 5B-1 and 5B-2, the Passd signal (e.g., for AND/NAND) or thePassdb signal (e.g., for OR/NOR) is deactivated (e.g., at time t5), theselected row is disabled (e.g., at time t6), the sense amp is disabled(e.g., at time t7), and equilibration occurs (e.g., at time t8). Anintermediate operation phase such as that illustrated in FIG. 5B-1 or5B-2 can be repeated in order to accumulate results from a number ofadditional rows. As an example, the sequence of timing diagram 585-2 or585-3 can be performed a subsequent (e.g., second) time for a Row2memory cell, a subsequent (e.g., third) time for a Row3 memory cell,etc. For instance, for a 10-input NOR operation, the intermediate phaseshown in FIG. 5B-2 can occur 9 times to provide 9 inputs of the 10-inputlogical operation, with the tenth input being determined during theinitial operation phase (e.g., as described in FIG. 5A).

The above described logical operations (e.g., AND, OR, NAND, NOR) can beperformed in association with comparing data patterns in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. For instance, the AND and ORoperations can be performed to determine whether a target comparepattern is stored one or more times in an array as described above inassociation with FIG. 3.

FIGS. 5C-1 and 5C-2 illustrate timing diagrams 585-4 and 585-5,respectively, associated with performing a number of logical operationsusing sensing circuitry in accordance with a number of embodiments ofthe present disclosure. Timing diagrams 585-4 and 585-5 illustratesignals (e.g., voltage signals) associated with performing a lastoperation phase of a logical operation (e.g., an R-input logicaloperation). For instance, timing diagram 585-4 corresponds to a lastoperation phase of an R-input NAND operation or an R-input NORoperation, and timing diagram 585-5 corresponds to a last operationphase of an R-input AND operation or an R-input OR operation. Forexample, performing a NAND operation can include performing theoperation phase shown in FIG. 5C-1 subsequent to a number of iterationsof the intermediate operation phase described in association with FIG.5B-1, performing a NOR operation can include performing the operationphase shown in FIG. 5C-1 subsequent to a number of iterations of theintermediate operation phase described in association with FIG. 5B-2,performing an AND operation can include performing the operation phaseshown in FIG. 5C-2 subsequent to a number of iterations of theintermediate operation phase described in association with FIG. 5B-1,and performing an OR operation can include performing the operationphase shown in FIG. 5C-2 subsequent to a number of iterations of theintermediate operation phase described in association with FIG. 5B-2.Table 1 shown below indicates the Figures corresponding to the sequenceof operation phases associated with performing a number of R-inputlogical operations in accordance with a number of embodiments describedherein.

TABLE 1 Operation FIG. 5A FIG. 5B-1 FIG. 5B-2 FIG. 5C-1 FIG. 5C-2 ANDFirst phase R-1 Last phase iterations NAND First phase R-1 Last phaseiterations OR First phase R-1 Last phase iterations NOR First phase R-1Last phase iterations

The last operation phases of FIGS. 5C-1 and 5C-2 are described inassociation with storing a result of an R-input logical operation to arow of the array (e.g., array 430). However, in a number of embodiments,the result can be stored to a suitable location other than back to thearray (e.g., to an external register associated with a controller and/orhost processor, to a memory array of a different memory device, etc.,via I/O lines).

As shown in timing diagrams 585-4 and 585-5, at time equilibration isdisabled (e.g., the equilibration signal 526 is deactivated) such thatsense lines D and D_(—) are floating. At time t2, either the InvD signal513 or the Passd and Passdb signals 511 are activated, depending onwhich logical operation is being performed. In this example, the InvDsignal 513 is activated for a NAND or NOR operation (see FIG. 5C-1), andthe Passd and Passdb signals 511 are activated for an AND or ORoperation (see FIG. 5C-2).

Activating the InvD signal 513 at time t2 (e.g., in association with aNAND or NOR operation) enables transistors 414-1/414-2 and results in aninverting of the data value stored in the secondary latch of the computecomponent (e.g., 431) as either sense line D or sense line D_(—) ispulled low. As such, activating signal 513 inverts the accumulatedoutput. Therefore, for a NAND operation, if any of the memory cellssensed in the prior operation phases (e.g., the initial operation phaseand one or more intermediate operation phases) stored a logic 0 (e.g.,if any of the R-inputs of the NAND operation were a logic 0), then thesense line D_(—) will carry a voltage corresponding to logic 0 (e.g., aground voltage) and sense line D will carry a voltage corresponding tologic 1 (e.g., a supply voltage such as VDD). For this NAND example, ifall of the memory cells sensed in the prior operation phases stored alogic 1 (e.g., all of the R-inputs of the NAND operation were logic 1),then the sense line D_(—) will carry a voltage corresponding to logic 1and sense line D will carry a voltage corresponding to logic 0. At timet3, the primary latch of sense amp 406 is then enabled (e.g., the senseamp is fired), driving D and D_(—) to the appropriate rails, and thesense line D now carries the NANDed result of the respective input datavalues as determined from the memory cells sensed during the prioroperation phases. As such, sense line D will be at VDD if any of theinput data values are a logic 0 and sense line D will be at ground ifall of the input data values are a logic 1.

For a NOR operation, if any of the memory cells sensed in the prioroperation phases (e.g., the initial operation phase and one or moreintermediate operation phases) stored a logic 1 (e.g., if any of theR-inputs of the NOR operation were a logic 1), then the sense line D_(—)will carry a voltage corresponding to logic 1 (e.g., VDD) and sense lineD will carry a voltage corresponding to logic 0 (e.g., ground). For thisNOR example, if all of the memory cells sensed in the prior operationphases stored a logic 0 (e.g., all of the R-inputs of the NOR operationwere logic 0), then the sense line D_(—) will carry a voltagecorresponding to logic 0 and sense line D will carry a voltagecorresponding to logic 1. At time t3, the primary latch of sense amp 406is then enabled and the sense line D now contains the NORed result ofthe respective input data values as determined from the memory cellssensed during the prior operation phases. As such, sense line D will beat ground if any of the input data values are a logic 1 and sense line Dwill be at VDD if all of the input data values are a logic 0.

Referring to FIG. 5C-2, activating the Passd and Passdb signals 511(e.g., in association with an AND or OR operation) transfers theaccumulated output stored in the secondary latch of compute component431 to the primary latch of sense amp 406. For instance, for an ANDoperation, if any of the memory cells sensed in the prior operationphases (e.g., the first operation phase of FIG. 5A and one or moreiterations of the intermediate operation phase of FIG. 5B-1) stored alogic 0 (e.g., if any of the R-inputs of the AND operation were a logic0), then the sense line D_(—) will carry a voltage corresponding tologic 1 (e.g., VDD) and sense line D will carry a voltage correspondingto logic 0 (e.g., ground). For this AND example, if all of the memorycells sensed in the prior operation phases stored a logic 1 (e.g., allof the R-inputs of the AND operation were logic 1), then the sense lineD_(—) will carry a voltage corresponding to logic 0 and sense line Dwill carry a voltage corresponding to logic 1. At time t3, the primarylatch of sense amp 206 is then enabled and the sense line D now carriesthe ANDed result of the respective input data values as determined fromthe memory cells sensed during the prior operation phases. As such,sense line D will be at ground if any of the input data values are alogic 0 and sense line D will be at VDD if all of the input data valuesare a logic 1.

For an OR operation, if any of the memory cells sensed in the prioroperation phases (e.g., the first operation phase of FIG. 5A and one ormore iterations of the intermediate operation phase shown in FIG. 5B-2)stored a logic 1 (e.g., if any of the R-inputs of the OR operation werea logic 1), then the sense line D_(—) will carry a voltage correspondingto logic 0 (e.g., ground) and sense line D will carry a voltagecorresponding to logic 1 (e.g., VDD). For this OR example, if all of thememory cells sensed in the prior operation phases stored a logic 0(e.g., all of the R-inputs of the OR operation were logic 0), then thesense line D will carry a voltage corresponding to logic 0 and senseline D_(—) will carry a voltage corresponding to logic 1. At time t3,the primary latch of the sense amp (e.g., sense amp 406 is then enabledand the sense line D now carries the ORed result of the respective inputdata values as determined from the memory cells sensed during the prioroperation phases. As such, sense line D will be at VDD if any of theinput data values are a logic 1 and sense line D will be at ground ifall of the input data values are a logic 0.

The result of the R-input AND, OR, NAND, and NOR operations can then bestored back to a memory cell of the array (e.g., array 430). In theexamples shown in FIGS. 5C-1 and 5C-2, the result of the R-input logicaloperation is stored to a memory cell coupled to RowN (e.g., 404-N inFIG. 4). Storing the result of the logical operation to the RowN memorycell simply involves enabling the RowN access transistor 402 by enablingRowN. The capacitor 403 of the RowN memory cell will be driven to avoltage corresponding to the data value on the sense line D (e.g., logic1 or logic 0), which essentially overwrites whatever data value waspreviously stored in the RowN memory cell. It is noted that the RowNmemory cell can be a same memory cell that stored a data value used asan input for the logical operation. For instance, the result of thelogical operation can be stored back to the Row0 memory cell or Row1memory cell.

Timing diagrams 585-4 and 585-5 illustrate, at time t3, the positivecontrol signal 531 and the negative control signal 528 being deactivated(e.g., signal 531 goes high and signal 528 goes low) to enabled thesense amp 406. At time t4 the respective signal (e.g., 513 or 511) thatwas activated at time t2 is deactivated. Embodiments are not limited tothis example. For instance, in a number of embodiments, the sense amp406 may be enabled subsequent to time t4 (e.g., after signal 513 orsignals 511 are deactivated).

As shown in FIGS. 5C-1 and 5C-2, at time t5, RowR (404-R) is enabled,which drives the capacitor 403 of the selected cell to the voltagecorresponding to the logic value stored in the compute component. Attime t6, Row R is disabled, at time t7, the sense amp 406 is disabled(e.g., signals 528 and 531 are deactivated) and at time t8 equilibrationoccurs (e.g., signal 526 is activated and the voltages on thecomplementary sense lines 405-1/405-2 are brought to the equilibrationvoltage).

In a number of embodiments, sensing circuitry such as that described inFIG. 4 (e.g., circuitry formed on pitch with the memory cells) canenable performance of numerous logical operations in parallel. Forinstance, in an array having 16K columns, 16K logical operations can beperformed in parallel, without transferring data from the array andsensing circuitry via I/O lines (e.g., via a bus). As such, the sensingcircuitry can be operated to perform a plurality of comparisonoperations in parallel in association with comparing data patterns asdescribed herein.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the particularsensing circuitry configuration illustrated in FIG. 4. For instance,different compute components can be used to perform logical operationsin accordance with a number of embodiments described herein. Althoughnot illustrated in FIG. 4, in a number of embodiments, control circuitrycan be coupled to array 430, sense amp 406, and/or compute component431. Such control circuitry may be implemented on a same chip as thearray and sensing circuitry and/or on an external processing resourcesuch as an external processor, for instance, and can controlactivating/deactivating various signals corresponding to the array andsensing circuitry in order to perform logical operations as describedherein.

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of a portion of sensing circuitryin accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure. Inthis example, the portion of sensing circuitry comprises a senseamplifier 306. In a number of embodiments, one sense amplifier 606(e.g., “sense amp”) is provided for each column of memory cells in anarray (e.g., array 130). The sense amp 606 can be sense amp of a DRAMarray, for instance. In this example, sense amp 606 is coupled to a pairof complementary sense lines 605-1 (“D”) and 305-2 (“D_”). As such, thesense amp 606 is coupled to all of the memory cells in a respectivecolumn through sense lines D and D_.

The sense amplifier 606 includes a pair of cross coupled n-channeltransistors (e.g., NMOS transistors) 627-1 and 627-2 having theirrespective sources coupled to a negative control signal 628 (RNL_) andtheir drains coupled to sense lines D and D_, respectively. The senseamplifier 606 also includes a pair of cross coupled p-channeltransistors (e.g., PMOS transistors) 629-1 and 629-2 having theirrespective sources coupled to a positive control signal 631 (PSA) andtheir drains coupled to sense lines D and D_, respectively.

The sense amp 606 includes a pair of isolation transistors 621-1 and621-2 coupled to sense lines D and D_, respectively. The isolationtransistors 621-1 and 621-2 are coupled to a control signal 622 (ISO)that, when activated, enables (e.g., turns on) the transistors 621-1 and621-2 to connect the sense amp 306 to a column of memory cells. Althoughnot illustrated in FIG. 6, the sense amp 606 may be coupled to a firstand a second memory array and can include another pair of isolationtransistors coupled to a complementary control signal (e.g., ISO_),which is deactivated when ISO is deactivated such that the sense amp 606is isolated from a first array when sense amp 606 is coupled to a secondarray, and vice versa.

The sense amp 606 also includes circuitry configured to equilibrate thesense lines D and D_. In this example, the equilibration circuitrycomprises a transistor 624 having a first source/drain region coupled toan equilibration voltage 625 (dvc2), which can be equal to VDD/2, whereVDD is a supply voltage associated with the array. A second source/drainregion of transistor 624 is coupled to a common first source/drainregion of a pair of transistors 623-1 and 623-2. The second source drainregions of transistors 623-1 and 623-2 are coupled to sense lines D andD_, respectively. The gates of transistors 624, 623-1, and 623-2 arecoupled to control signal 626 (EQ). As such, activating EQ enables thetransistors 624, 623-1, and 623-2, which effectively shorts sense line Dto sense line D_(—) such that the sense lines D and D_(—) areequilibrated to equilibration voltage dvc2.

The sense amp 606 also includes transistors 632-1 and 632-2 whose gatesare coupled to a signal 633 (COLDEC). Signal 633 may be referred to as acolumn decode signal or a column select signal. The sense lines D andD_(—) are connected to respective local I/O lines 634-1 (IO) and 334-2(IO_) responsive to activating signal 633 (e.g., to perform an operationsuch as a sense line access in association with a read operation). Assuch, signal 633 can be activated to transfer a signal corresponding tothe state (e.g., a logic data value such as logic 0 or logic 1) of thememory cell being accessed out of the array on the I/O lines 634-1 and634-2.

In operation, when a memory cell is being sensed (e.g., read), thevoltage on one of the sense lines D, D_(—) will be slightly greater thanthe voltage on the other one of sense lines D, D_. The PSA signal isthen driven high and the RNL_ signal is driven low to enable the senseamplifier 606. The sense line D, D having the lower voltage will turn onone of the PMOS transistor 629-1, 629-2 to a greater extent than theother of PMOS transistor 629-1, 629-2, thereby driving high the senseline D, D_(—) having the higher voltage to a greater extent than theother sense line D, D_(—) is driven high. Similarly, the sense line D,D_(—) having the higher voltage will turn on one of the NMOS transistor627-1, 627-2 to a greater extent than the other of the NMOS transistor627-1, 627-2, thereby driving low the sense line D, D_(—) having thelower voltage to a greater extent than the other sense line D, D_(—) isdriven low. As a result, after a short delay, the sense line D, D_(—)having the slightly greater voltage is driven to the voltage of the PSAsignal (which can be the supply voltage VDD), and the other sense lineD, D_(—) is driven to the voltage of the RNL_ signal (which can be areference potential such as a ground potential). Therefore, the crosscoupled NMOS transistors 627-1, 627-2 and PMOS transistors 629-1, 629-2serve as a sense amp pair, which amplify the differential voltage on thesense lines D and D_ and serve to latch a data value sensed from theselected memory cell. As used herein, the cross coupled latch of senseamp 306 may be referred to as a primary latch. In contrast, and asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 4, a cross coupled latchassociated with a compute component (e.g., compute component 431 shownin FIG. 4) may be referred to as a secondary latch.

FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating sensing circuitry inaccordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure. Amemory cell comprises a storage element (e.g., capacitor) and an accessdevice (e.g., transistor). For instance, transistor 702-1 and capacitor703-1 comprises a memory cell, and transistor 702-2 and capacitor 703-2comprises a memory cell, etc. In this example, the memory array 730 is aDRAM array of 1T1C (one transistor one capacitor) memory cells. In anumber of embodiments, the memory cells may be destructive read memorycells (e.g., reading the data stored in the cell destroys the data suchthat the data originally stored in the cell is refreshed after beingread). The cells of the memory array 730 are arranged in rows coupled byword lines 704-X (Row X), 704-Y (Row Y), etc., and columns coupled bypairs of complementary data lines DIGIT(n−1)/DIGIT(n−1)_,DIGIT(n)/DIGIT(n)_, DIGIT(n+1)/DIGIT(n+1)_. The individual data linescorresponding to each pair of complementary data lines can also bereferred to as data lines 705-1 (D) and 705-2 (D_) respectively.Although only three pair of complementary data lines are shown in FIG.7A, embodiments of the present disclosure are not so limited, and anarray of memory cells can include additional columns of memory cellsand/or data lines (e.g., 4,096, 8,192, 16,384, etc.).

Memory cells can be coupled to different data lines and/or word lines.For example, a first source/drain region of a transistor 702-1 can becoupled to data line 705-1 (D), a second source/drain region oftransistor 702-1 can be coupled to capacitor 703-1, and a gate of atransistor 702-1 can be coupled to word line 704-X. A first source/drainregion of a transistor 702-2 can be coupled to data line 705-2 (D_), asecond source/drain region of transistor 702-2 can be coupled tocapacitor 703-2, and a gate of a transistor 702-2 can be coupled to wordline 704-Y. The cell plate, as shown in FIG. 7A, can be coupled to eachof capacitors 703-1 and 703-2. The cell plate can be a common node towhich a reference voltage (e.g., ground) can be applied in variousmemory array configurations.

The memory array 730 is coupled to sensing circuitry 750 in accordancewith a number of embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example,the sensing circuitry 750 comprises a sense amplifier 706 and a computecomponent 731 corresponding to respective columns of memory cells (e.g.,coupled to respective pairs of complementary data lines). The senseamplifier 706 can comprise a cross coupled latch, which can be referredto herein as a primary latch. The sense amplifier 706 can be configured,for example, as described with respect to FIG. 7B.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 7A, the circuitry corresponding tocompute component 731 comprises a static latch 764 and an additional tentransistors that implement, among other things, a dynamic latch. Thedynamic latch and/or static latch of the compute component 731 can becollectively referred to herein as a secondary latch, which can serve asan accumulator. As such, the compute component 731 can operate as and/orbe referred to herein as an accumulator. The compute component 731 canbe coupled to each of the data lines D 705-1 and D_ 705-2 as shown inFIG. 7A. However, embodiments are not limited to this example. Thetransistors of compute component 731 can all be n-channel transistors(e.g., NMOS transistors), for example.

In this example, data line D 705-1 can be coupled to a firstsource/drain region of transistors 716-1 and 739-1, as well as to afirst source/drain region of load/pass transistor 718-1. Data line D_(—)705-2 can be coupled to a first source/drain region of transistors 716-2and 739-2, as well as to a first source/drain region of load/passtransistor 718-2.

The gates of load/pass transistor 718-1 and 718-2 can be commonlycoupled to a LOAD control signal, or respectively coupled to aPASSD/PASSDB control signal, as discussed further below. A secondsource/drain region of load/pass transistor 718-1 can be directlycoupled to the gates of transistors 716-1 and 739-2. A secondsource/drain region of load/pass transistor 718-2 can be directlycoupled to the gates of transistors 716-2 and 739-1.

A second source/drain region of transistor 716-1 can be directly coupledto a first source/drain region of pull-down transistor 714-1. A secondsource/drain region of transistor 739-1 can be directly coupled to afirst source/drain region of pull-down transistor 707-1. A secondsource/drain region of transistor 716-2 can be directly coupled to afirst source/drain region of pull-down transistor 714-2. A secondsource/drain region of transistor 739-2 can be directly coupled to afirst source/drain region of pull-down transistor 707-2. A secondsource/drain region of each of pull-down transistors 707-1, 707-2,714-1, and 714-2 can be commonly coupled together to a reference voltage791-1 (e.g., ground (GND)). A gate of pull-down transistor 707-1 can becoupled to an AND control signal line, a gate of pull-down transistor714-1 can be coupled to an ANDinv control signal line 713-1, a gate ofpull-down transistor 714-2 can be coupled to an ORinv control signalline 713-2, and a gate of pull-down transistor 707-2 can be coupled toan OR control signal line.

The gate of transistor 739-1 can be referred to as node S1, and the gateof transistor 739-2 can be referred to as node S2. The circuit shown inFIG. 7A stores accumulator data dynamically on nodes S1 and S2.Activating the LOAD control signal causes load/pass transistors 718-1and 718-2 to conduct, and thereby load complementary data onto nodes S1and S2. The LOAD control signal can be elevated to a voltage greaterthan VDD to pass a full VDD level to S1/S2. However, elevating the LOADcontrol signal to a voltage greater than VDD is optional, andfunctionality of the circuit shown in FIG. 7A is not contingent on theLOAD control signal being elevated to a voltage greater than VDD.

The configuration of compute component 731 shown in FIG. 7A has thebenefit of balancing the sense amplifier for functionality when thepull-down transistors 707-1, 707-2, 714-1, and 714-2 are conductingbefore the sense amplifier 706 is fired (e.g., during pre-seeding of thesense amplifier 706). As used herein, firing the sense amplifier 706refers to enabling the sense amplifier 706 to set the primary latch andsubsequently disabling the sense amplifier 706 to retain the set primarylatch. Performing logical operations after equilibration is disabled (inthe sense amp), but before the sense amplifier fires, can save powerusage because the latch of the sense amplifier does not have to be“flipped” using full rail voltages (e.g., VDD, GND).

Inverting transistors can pull-down a respective data line in performingcertain logical operations. For example, transistor 716-1 (having a gatecoupled to S2 of the dynamic latch) in series with transistor 714-1(having a gate coupled to an ANDinv control signal line 713-1) can beoperated to pull-down data line 705-1 (D), and transistor 716-2 (havinga gate coupled to S1 of the dynamic latch) in series with transistor714-2 (having a gate coupled to an ANDinv control signal line 713-2) canbe operated to pull-down data line 705-2 (D_).

The latch 764 can be controllably enabled by coupling to an activenegative control signal line 712-1 (ACCUMB) and an active positivecontrol signal line 712-2 (ACCUM) rather than be configured to becontinuously enabled by coupling to ground and VDD. In variousembodiments, load/pass transistors 708-1 and 708-2 can each having agate coupled to one of a LOAD control signal or a PASSD/PASSDB controlsignal.

According to some embodiments, the gates of load/pass transistors 718-1and 718-2 can be commonly coupled to a LOAD control signal. In theconfiguration where the gates of load/pass transistors 718-1 and 718-2are commonly coupled to the LOAD control signal, transistors 718-1 and718-2 can be load transistors. Activating the LOAD control signal causesthe load transistors to conduct, and thereby load complementary dataonto nodes S1 and S2. The LOAD control signal can be elevated to avoltage greater than VDD to pass a full VDD level to S1/S2. However, theLOAD control signal need not be elevated to a voltage greater than VDDis optional, and functionality of the circuit shown in FIG. 7A is notcontingent on the LOAD control signal being elevated to a voltagegreater than VDD.

According to some embodiments, the gate of load/pass transistor 718-1can be coupled to a PASSD control signal, and the gate of load/passtransistor 718-2 can be coupled to a PASSDb control signal. In theconfiguration where the gates of transistors 718-1 and 718-2 arerespectively coupled to one of the PASSD and PASSDb control signals,transistors 718-1 and 718-2 can be pass transistors. Pass transistorscan be operated differently (e.g., at different times and/or underdifferent voltage/current conditions) than load transistors. As such,the configuration of pass transistors can be different than theconfiguration of load transistors.

Load transistors are constructed to handle loading associated withcoupling data lines to the local dynamic nodes S1 and S2, for example.Pass transistors are constructed to handle heavier loading associatedwith coupling data lines to an adjacent accumulator (e.g., through theshift circuitry 723, as shown in FIG. 7A). According to someembodiments, load/pass transistors 718-1 and 718-2 can be configured toaccommodate the heavier loading corresponding to a pass transistor butbe coupled and operated as a load transistor. Load/pass transistors718-1 and 718-2 configured as pass transistors can also be utilized asload transistors. However, load/pass transistors 718-1 and 718-2configured as load transistors may not be capable of being utilized aspass transistors.

In a number of embodiments, the compute component 731, including thelatch 764, can comprise a number of transistors formed on pitch with thetransistors of the corresponding memory cells of an array (e.g., array730 shown in FIG. 7A) to which they are coupled, which may conform to aparticular feature size (e.g., 4F², 6F², etc.). According to variousembodiments, latch 764 includes four transistors 708-1, 708-2, 709-1,and 709-2 coupled to a pair of complementary data lines D 705-1 andD_(—) 705-2 through load/pass transistors 718-1 and 718-2. However,embodiments are not limited to this configuration. The latch 764 can bea cross coupled latch (e.g., gates of a pair of transistors, such asn-channel transistors (e.g., NMOS transistors) 709-1 and 709-2 are crosscoupled with the gates of another pair of transistors, such as p-channeltransistors (e.g., PMOS transistors) 708-1 and 708-2). As describedfurther herein, the cross coupled latch 764 can be referred to as astatic latch.

The voltages or currents on the respective data lines D and D_(—) can beprovided to the respective latch inputs 717-1 and 717-2 of the crosscoupled latch 764 (e.g., the input of the secondary latch). In thisexample, the latch input 717-1 is coupled to a first source/drain regionof transistors 708-1 and 709-1 as well as to the gates of transistors708-2 and 709-2. Similarly, the latch input 717-2 can be coupled to afirst source/drain region of transistors 708-2 and 709-2 as well as tothe gates of transistors 708-1 and 709-1.

In this example, a second source/drain region of transistor 709-1 and709-2 is commonly coupled to a negative control signal line 712-1 (e.g.,ground (GND) or ACCUMB control signal similar to control signal RnIFshown in FIG. 7B with respect to the primary latch). A secondsource/drain region of transistors 708-1 and 708-2 is commonly coupledto a positive control signal line 712-2 (e.g., VDD or ACCUM controlsignal similar to control signal ACT shown in FIG. 7B with respect tothe primary latch). The positive control signal 712-2 can provide asupply voltage (e.g., VDD) and the negative control signal 712-1 can bea reference voltage (e.g., ground) to enable the cross coupled latch764. According to some embodiments, the second source/drain region oftransistors 708-1 and 708-2 are commonly coupled directly to the supplyvoltage (e.g., VDD), and the second source/drain region of transistor709-1 and 709-2 are commonly coupled directly to the reference voltage(e.g., ground) so as to continuously enable latch 764.

The enabled cross coupled latch 764 operates to amplify a differentialvoltage between latch input 717-1 (e.g., first common node) and latchinput 717-2 (e.g., second common node) such that latch input 717-1 isdriven to either the activated positive control signal voltage (e.g.,V_(DD)) or the activated negative control signal voltage (e.g., ground),and latch input 717-2 is driven to the other of the activated positivecontrol signal voltage (e.g., V_(DD)) or the activated negative controlsignal voltage (e.g., ground).

As shown in FIG. 7A, the sense amplifier 706 and the compute component731 can be coupled to the array 730 via shift circuitry 723. In thisexample, the shift circuitry 723 comprises a pair of isolation devices(e.g., isolation transistors 721-1 and 721-2) coupled to data lines705-1 (D) and 705-2 (D_), respectively). The isolation transistors 721-1and 721-2 are coupled to a control signal 722 (NORM) that, whenactivated, enables (e.g., turns on) the isolation transistors 721-1 and721-2 to couple the corresponding sense amplifier 706 and computecomponent 731 to a corresponding column of memory cells (e.g., to acorresponding pair of complementary data lines 705-1 (D) and 705-2(D_)). According to various embodiments, conduction of isolationtransistors 721-1 and 721-2 can be referred to as a “normal”configuration of the shift circuitry 723.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 7A, the shift circuitry 723 includesanother (e.g., a second) pair of isolation devices (e.g., isolationtransistors 721-3 and 721-4) coupled to a complementary control signal719 (SHIFT), which can be activated, for example, when NORM isdeactivated. The isolation transistors 721-3 and 721-4 can be operated(e.g., via control signal 719) such that a particular sense amplifier706 and compute component 731 are coupled to a different pair ofcomplementary data lines (e.g., a pair of complementary data linesdifferent than the pair of complementary data lines to which isolationtransistors 721-1 and 721-2 couple the particular sense amplifier 706and compute component 731), or can couple a particular sense amplifier706 and compute component 731 to another memory array (and isolate theparticular sense amplifier 706 and compute component 731 from a firstmemory array). According to various embodiments, the shift circuitry 723can be arranged as a portion of (e.g., within) the sense amplifier 706,for instance.

Although the shift circuitry 723 shown in FIG. 7A includes isolationtransistors 721-1 and 721-2 used to couple particular sensing circuitry750 (e.g., a particular sense amplifier 706 and corresponding computecomponent 731) to a particular pair of complementary data lines 705-1(D) and 705-2 (D_) (e.g., DIGIT(n) and DIGIT(n)_) and isolationtransistors 721-3 and 721-4 are arranged to couple the particularsensing circuitry 750 to an adjacent pair of complementary data lines inone particular direction (e.g., adjacent data lines DIGIT(n+1) andDIGIT(n+1)_ shown to the right in FIG. 7A), embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not so limited. For instance, shift circuitry can includeisolation transistors 721-1 and 721-2 used to couple particular sensingcircuitry to a particular pair of complementary data lines (e.g.,DIGIT(n) and DIGIT(n)_ and isolation transistors 721-3 and 721-4arranged so as to be used to couple the particular sensing circuitry toan adjacent pair of complementary data lines in another particulardirection (e.g., adjacent data lines DIGIT(n−1) and DIGIT(n−1)_ shown tothe left in FIG. 7A).

Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to theconfiguration of shift circuitry 723 shown in FIG. 7A. In a number ofembodiments, shift circuitry 723 such as that shown in FIG. 7A can beoperated (e.g., in conjunction with sense amplifiers 706 and computecomponents 731) in association with performing compute functions such asadding and subtracting functions without transferring data out of thesensing circuitry 750 via an I/O line (e.g., local I/O line (IO/IO_)),for instance.

Although not shown in FIG. 7A, each column of memory cells can becoupled to a column decode line that can be activated to transfer, vialocal I/O line, a data value from a corresponding sense amplifier 706and/or compute component 731 to a control component external to thearray such as an external processing resource (e.g., host processorand/or other functional unit circuitry). The column decode line can becoupled to a column decoder (e.g., column decoder). However, asdescribed herein, in a number of embodiments, data need not betransferred via such I/O lines to perform logical operations inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. In a number ofembodiments, shift circuitry 723 can be operated in conjunction withsense amplifiers 706 and compute components 731 to perform computefunctions such as adding and subtracting functions without transferringdata to a control component external to the array, for instance.

FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating a portion of sensingcircuitry in accordance with a number of embodiments of the presentdisclosure. According to various embodiments, sense amplifier 706 cancomprise a cross coupled latch. However, embodiments of the senseamplifier 706 are not limited to the a cross coupled latch. As anexample, the sense amplifier 706 can be current-mode sense amplifierand/or single-ended sense amplifier (e.g., sense amplifier coupled toone data line). Also, embodiments of the present disclosure are notlimited to a folded data line architecture.

In a number of embodiments, a sense amplifier (e.g., 706) can comprise anumber of transistors formed on pitch with the transistors of thecorresponding compute component 731 and/or the memory cells of an array(e.g., 730 shown in FIG. 7A) to which they are coupled, which mayconform to a particular feature size (e.g., 4F², 6F², etc.). The senseamplifier 706 comprises a latch 715 including four transistors coupledto a pair of complementary data lines D 705-1 and D_(—) 705-2. The latch715 can be a cross coupled latch (e.g., gates of a pair of transistors,such as n-channel transistors (e.g., NMOS transistors) 727-1 and 727-2are cross coupled with the gates of another pair of transistors, such asp-channel transistors (e.g., PMOS transistors) 729-1 and 729-2). Asdescribed further herein, the latch 715 comprising transistors 727-1,727-2, 729-1, and 729-2 can be referred to as a primary latch. However,embodiments are not limited to this example.

The voltages or currents on the respective data lines D and D_(—) can beprovided to the respective latch inputs 733-1 and 733-2 of the crosscoupled latch 715 (e.g., the input of the secondary latch). In thisexample, the latch input 733-1 is coupled to a first source/drain regionof transistors 727-1 and 729-1 as well as to the gates of transistors727-2 and 729-2. Similarly, the latch input 733-2 can be coupled to afirst source/drain region of transistors 727-2 and 729-2 as well as tothe gates of transistors 727-1 and 729-1. The compute component 733(e.g., accumulator) can be coupled to latch inputs 733-1 and 733-2 ofthe cross coupled latch 715 as shown; however, embodiments are notlimited to the example shown in FIG. 7B.

In this example, a second source/drain region of transistor 727-1 and727-2 is commonly coupled to an active negative control signal 728(RnIF). A second source/drain region of transistors 729-1 and 729-2 iscommonly coupled to an active positive control signal 790 (ACT). The ACTsignal 790 can be a supply voltage (e.g., V_(DD)) and the RnIF signalcan be a reference voltage (e.g., ground). Activating signals 728 and790 enables the cross coupled latch 715.

The enabled cross coupled latch 715 operates to amplify a differentialvoltage between latch input 733-1 (e.g., first common node) and latchinput 733-2 (e.g., second common node) such that latch input 733-1 isdriven to one of the ACT signal voltage and the RnIF signal voltage(e.g., to one of V_(DD) and ground), and latch input 733-2 is driven tothe other of the ACT signal voltage and the RnIF signal voltage.

The sense amplifier 706 can also include circuitry configured toequilibrate the data lines D and D_(—) (e.g., in association withpreparing the sense amplifier for a sensing operation). In this example,the equilibration circuitry comprises a transistor 724 having a firstsource/drain region coupled to a first source/drain region of transistor725-1 and data line D 705-1. A second source/drain region of transistor724 can be coupled to a first source/drain region of transistor 725-2and data line D_(—) 705-2. A gate of transistor 724 can be coupled togates of transistors 725-1 and 725-2.

The second source drain regions of transistors 725-1 and 725-2 arecoupled to an equilibration voltage 738 (e.g., V_(DD)/2), which can beequal to V_(DD)/2, where V_(DD) is a supply voltage associated with thearray. The gates of transistors 724, 725-1, and 725-2 can be coupled tocontrol signal 725 (EQ). As such, activating EQ enables the transistors724, 725-1, and 725-2, which effectively shorts data line D to data lineD_(—) such that the data lines D and D_(—) are equilibrated toequilibration voltage V_(DD)/2. According to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, a number of logical operations can be performedusing the sense amplifier, and storing the result in the computecomponent (e.g., accumulator).

The sensing circuitry 750 can be operated in several modes to performlogical operations, including a first mode in which a result of thelogical operation is initially stored in the sense amplifier 706, and asecond mode in which a result of the logical operation is initiallystored in the compute component 731. Operation of the sensing circuitry750 in the first mode is described below with respect to FIGS. 8A and8B, and operation of the sensing circuitry 750 in the second mode isdescribed below with respect to FIGS. 5A through 5C-2. Additionally withrespect to the first operating mode, sensing circuitry 750 can beoperated in both pre-sensing (e.g., sense amps fired before logicaloperation control signal active) and post-sensing (e.g., sense ampsfired after logical operation control signal active) modes with a resultof a logical operation being initially stored in the sense amplifier706.

As described further below, the sense amplifier 706 can, in conjunctionwith the compute component 731, be operated to perform various logicaloperations using data from an array as input. In a number ofembodiments, the result of a logical operation can be stored back to thearray without transferring the data via a data line address access(e.g., without firing a column decode signal such that data istransferred to circuitry external from the array and sensing circuitryvia local I/O lines). As such, a number of embodiments of the presentdisclosure can enable performing logical operations and computefunctions associated therewith using less power than various previousapproaches. Additionally, since a number of embodiments eliminate theneed to transfer data across I/O lines in order to perform computefunctions (e.g., between memory and discrete processor), a number ofembodiments can enable an increased parallel processing capability ascompared to previous approaches.

The functionality of the sensing circuitry 750 of FIG. 7A is describedbelow and summarized in Table 1 below with respect to performing logicaloperations and initially storing a result in the sense amplifier 706.Initially storing the result of a particular logical operation in theprimary latch of sense amplifier 706 can provide improved versatility ascompared to previous approaches in which the result may initially residein a secondary latch (e.g., accumulator) of a compute component 731, andthen be subsequently transferred to the sense amplifier 706, forinstance.

TABLE 1 Operation Accumulator Sense Amp AND Unchanged Result ORUnchanged Result NOT Unchanged Result SHIFT Unchanged Shifted Data

Initially storing the result of a particular operation in the senseamplifier 706 (e.g., without having to perform an additional operationto move the result from the compute component 731 (e.g., accumulator) tothe sense amplifier 706) is advantageous because, for instance, theresult can be written to a row (of the array of memory cells) or backinto the accumulator without performing a precharge cycle (e.g., on thecomplementary data lines 705-1 (D) and/or 705-2 (D_)).

FIG. 8A illustrates a timing diagram associated with performing a numberof logical operations using sensing circuitry in accordance with anumber of embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8A illustrates atiming diagram associated with initiating an AND logical operation on afirst operand and a second operand. In this example, the first operandis stored in a memory cell coupled to a first access line (e.g., ROW X)and the second operand is stored in a memory cell coupled to a secondaccess line (e.g., ROW Y). Although the example refers to performing anAND on data stored in cells corresponding to one particular column,embodiments are not so limited. For instance, an entire row of datavalues can be ANDed, in parallel, with a different row of data values.For example, if an array comprises 2,048 columns, then 2,048 ANDoperations could be performed in parallel.

FIG. 8A illustrates a number of control signals associated withoperating sensing circuitry (e.g., 750) to perform the AND logicaloperation. “EQ” corresponds to an equilibrate signal applied to thesense amp 706, “ROW X” corresponds to an activation signal applied toaccess line 704-X, “ROW Y” corresponds to an activation signal appliedto access line 704-Y, “Act” and “RnIF” correspond to a respective activepositive and negative control signal applied to the sense amp 706,“LOAD” corresponds to a load control signal (e.g., LOAD/PASSD andLOAD/PASSDb shown in FIG. 7A), and “AND” corresponds to the AND controlsignal shown in FIG. 7A. FIG. 8A also illustrates the waveform diagramsshowing the signals (e.g., voltage signals) on the digit lines D and Dcorresponding to sense amp 706 and on the nodes S1 and S2 correspondingto the compute component 731 (e.g., Accum) during an AND logicaloperation for the various data value combinations of the Row X and Row Ydata values (e.g., diagrams correspond to respective data valuecombinations 00, 10, 01, 11). The particular timing diagram waveformsare discussed below with respect to the pseudo code associated with anAND operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 7A.

An example of pseudo code associated with loading (e.g., copying) afirst data value stored in a cell coupled to row 704-X into theaccumulator can be summarized as follows:

Copy Row X into the Accumulator:    Deactivate EQ    Open Row X    FireSense Amps (after which Row X data resides in the sense    amps)   Activate LOAD (sense amplifier data (Row X) is transferred to     nodes S1 and S2 of the Accumulator and resides there     dynamically)    Deactivate LOAD    Close Row X    Precharge

In the pseudo code above, “Deactivate EQ” indicates that anequilibration signal (EQ signal shown in FIG. 8A) corresponding to thesense amplifier 706 is disabled at t₁ as shown in FIG. 8A (e.g., suchthat the complementary data lines (e.g., 705-1 (D) and 705-2 (D_) are nolonger shorted to V_(DD)/2). After equilibration is disabled, a selectedrow (e.g., ROW X) is enabled (e.g., selected, opened such as byactivating a signal to select a particular row) as indicated by “OpenRow X” in the pseudo code and shown at t₂ for signal Row X in FIG. 8A.When the voltage signal applied to ROW X reaches the threshold voltage(Vt) of the access transistor (e.g., 702-2) corresponding to theselected cell, the access transistor turns on and couples the data line(e.g., 705-2 (D_)) to the selected cell (e.g., to capacitor 703-2) whichcreates a differential voltage signal between the data lines.

After Row X is enabled (e.g., activated), in the pseudo code above,“Fire Sense Amps” indicates that the sense amplifier 706 is enabled toset the primary latch and subsequently disabled. For example, as shownat t₃ in FIG. 8A, the ACT positive control signal (e.g., 790 shown inFIG. 7B) goes high and the RnIF negative control signal (e.g., 728 shownin FIG. 7B) goes low, which amplifies the differential signal between705-1 (D) and D_(—) 705-2, resulting in a voltage (e.g., V_(DD))corresponding to a logic 1 or a voltage (e.g., GND) corresponding to alogic 0 being on data line 705-1 (D) (and the voltage corresponding tothe other logic state being on complementary data line 705-2 (D_)). Thesensed data value is stored in the primary latch of sense amplifier 706.The primary energy consumption occurs in charging the data lines (e.g.,705-1 (D) or 705-2 (D_)) from the equilibration voltage V_(DD)/2 to therail voltage V_(DD).

The four sets of possible sense amplifier and accumulator signalsillustrated in FIG. 8A (e.g., one for each combination of Row X and RowY data values) shows the behavior of signals on data lines D and D_. TheRow X data value is stored in the primary latch of the sense amp. Itshould be noted that FIG. 7A shows that the memory cell includingstorage element 702-2, corresponding to Row X, is coupled to thecomplementary data line D_, while the memory cell including storageelement 702-1, corresponding to Row Y, is coupled to data line D.However, as can be seen in FIG. 7A, the charge stored in memory cell702-2 (corresponding to Row X) corresponding to a “0” data value causesthe voltage on data line D_(—) (to which memory cell 702-2 is coupled)to go high and the charge stored in memory cell 702-2 corresponding to a“1” data value causes the voltage on data line D_(—) to go low, which isopposite correspondence between data states and charge stored in memorycell 702-2, corresponding to Row Y, that is coupled to data line D.These differences in storing charge in memory cells coupled to differentdata lines is appropriately accounted for when writing data values tothe respective memory cells.

After firing the sense amps, in the pseudo code above, “Activate LOAD”indicates that the LOAD control signal goes high as shown at t₄ in FIG.8A, causing load/pass transistors 718-1 and 718-2 to conduct. In thismanner, activating the LOAD control signal enables the secondary latchin the accumulator of the compute component 731. The sensed data valuestored in the sense amplifier 706 is transferred (e.g., copied) to thesecondary latch. As shown for each of the four sets of possible senseamplifier and accumulator signals illustrated in FIG. 8A, the behaviorat inputs of the secondary latch of the accumulator indicates thesecondary latch is loaded with the Row X data value. As shown in FIG.8A, the secondary latch of the accumulator may flip (e.g., seeaccumulator signals for Row X=“0” and Row Y=“0” and for Row X=“1” andRow Y=“0”), or not flip (e.g., see accumulator signals for Row X=“0” andRow Y=“1” and for Row X=“1” and Row Y=“1”), depending on the data valuepreviously stored in the dynamic latch.

After setting the secondary latch from the data values stored in thesense amplifier (and present on the data lines 705-1 (D) and 705-2 (D_),in the pseudo code above, “Deactivate LOAD” indicates that the LOADcontrol signal goes back low as shown at t₅ in FIG. 8A to cause theload/pass transistors 718-1 and 718-2 to stop conducting and therebyisolate the dynamic latch from the complementary data lines. However,the data value remains dynamically stored in secondary latch of theaccumulator.

After storing the data value on the secondary latch, the selected row(e.g., ROW X) is disabled (e.g., deselected, closed such as bydeactivating a select signal for a particular row) as indicated by“Close Row X” and indicated at t₆ in FIG. 8A, which can be accomplishedby the access transistor turning off to decouple the selected cell fromthe corresponding data line. Once the selected row is closed and thememory cell is isolated from the data lines, the data lines can beprecharged as indicated by the “Precharge” in the pseudo code above. Aprecharge of the data lines can be accomplished by an equilibrateoperation, as indicated in FIG. 8A by the EQ signal going high at t₇. Asshown in each of the four sets of possible sense amplifier andaccumulator signals illustrated in FIG. 8A at t₇, the equilibrateoperation causes the voltage on data lines D and D_(—) to each return toV_(DD)/2. Equilibration can occur, for instance, prior to a memory cellsensing operation or the logical operations (described below).

A subsequent operation phase associated with performing the AND or theOR operation on the first data value (now stored in the sense amplifier706 and the secondary latch of the compute component 731) and the seconddata value (stored in a memory cell 702-1 coupled to Row Y 704-Y)includes performing particular steps which depend on the whether an ANDor an OR is to be performed. Examples of pseudo code associated with“ANDing” and “ORing” the data value residing in the accumulator (e.g.,the first data value stored in the memory cell 702-2 coupled to Row X704-X) and the second data value (e.g., the data value stored in thememory cell 702-1 coupled to Row Y 704-Y) are summarized below. Examplepseudo code associated with “ANDing” the data values can include:

Deactivate EQ Open Row Y Fire Sense Amps (after which Row Y data residesin the sense amps) Close Row Y    The result of the logic operation, inthe next operation, will be      placed on the sense amp, which willoverwrite any row that is      active.    Even when Row Y is closed, thesense amplifier still contains the      Row Y data value. Activate AND   This results in the sense amplifier being written to the value of the     function (e.g., Row X AND Row Y)    If the accumulator contains a“0” (i.e., a voltage corresponding to a      “0” on node S2 and avoltage corresponding to a “1” on node      S1), the sense amplifierdata is written to a “0”    If the accumulator contains a “1” (i.e., avoltage corresponding to a      “1” on node S2 and a voltagecorresponding to a “0” on node      S1), the sense amplifier dataremains unchanged (Row Y data)    This operation leaves the data in theaccumulator unchanged. Deactivate AND Precharge

In the pseudo code above, “Deactivate EQ” indicates that anequilibration signal corresponding to the sense amplifier 706 isdisabled (e.g., such that the complementary data lines 705-1 (D) and705-2 (D_) are no longer shorted to V_(DD)/2), which is illustrated inFIG. 8A at t₈. After equilibration is disabled, a selected row (e.g.,ROW Y) is enabled as indicated in the pseudo code above by “Open Row Y”and shown in FIG. 8A at t₉. When the voltage signal applied to ROW Yreaches the threshold voltage (Vt) of the access transistor (e.g.,702-1) corresponding to the selected cell, the access transistor turnson and couples the data line (e.g., D_(—) 705-1) to the selected cell(e.g., to capacitor 703-1) which creates a differential voltage signalbetween the data lines.

After Row Y is enabled, in the pseudo code above, “Fire Sense Amps”indicates that the sense amplifier 706 is enabled to amplify thedifferential signal between 705-1 (D) and 705-2 (D_), resulting in avoltage (e.g., V_(DD)) corresponding to a logic 1 or a voltage (e.g.,GND) corresponding to a logic 0 being on data line 705-1 (D) (and thevoltage corresponding to the other logic state being on complementarydata line 705-2 (D_)). As shown at t₁₀ in FIG. 8A, the ACT positivecontrol signal (e.g., 790 shown in FIG. 7B) goes high and the RnIFnegative control signal (e.g., 728 shown in FIG. 7B) goes low to firethe sense amps. The sensed data value from memory cell 702-1 is storedin the primary latch of sense amplifier 706, as previously described.The secondary latch still corresponds to the data value from memory cell702-2 since the dynamic latch is unchanged.

After the second data value sensed from the memory cell 702-1 coupled toRow Y is stored in the primary latch of sense amplifier 706, in thepseudo code above, “Close Row Y” indicates that the selected row (e.g.,ROW Y) can be disabled if it is not desired to store the result of theAND logical operation back in the memory cell corresponding to Row Y.However, FIG. 8A shows that Row Y is left enabled such that the resultof the logical operation can be stored back in the memory cellcorresponding to Row Y. Isolating the memory cell corresponding to Row Ycan be accomplished by the access transistor turning off to decouple theselected cell 702-1 from the data line 705-1 (D). After the selected RowY is configured (e.g., to isolate the memory cell or not isolate thememory cell), “Activate AND” in the pseudo code above indicates that theAND control signal goes high as shown in FIG. 8A at t₁₁, causing passtransistor 707-1 to conduct. In this manner, activating the AND controlsignal causes the value of the function (e.g., Row X AND Row Y) to bewritten to the sense amp.

With the first data value (e.g., Row X) stored in the dynamic latch ofthe accumulator 731 and the second data value (e.g., Row Y) stored inthe sense amplifier 706, if the dynamic latch of the compute component731 contains a “0” (i.e., a voltage corresponding to a “0” on node S2and a voltage corresponding to a “1” on node 51), the sense amplifierdata is written to a “0” (regardless of the data value previously storedin the sense amp) since the voltage corresponding to a “1” on node S1causes transistor 709-1 to conduct thereby coupling the sense amplifier706 to ground through transistor 709-1, pass transistor 707-1 and dataline 705-1 (D). When either data value of an AND operation is “0,” theresult is a “0.” Here, when the second data value (in the dynamic latch)is a “0,” the result of the AND operation is a “0” regardless of thestate of the first data value, and so the configuration of the sensingcircuitry causes the “0” result to be written and initially stored inthe sense amplifier 706. This operation leaves the data value in theaccumulator unchanged (e.g., from Row X).

If the secondary latch of the accumulator contains a “1” (e.g., from RowX), then the result of the AND operation depends on the data valuestored in the sense amplifier 706 (e.g., from Row Y). The result of theAND operation should be a “1” if the data value stored in the senseamplifier 706 (e.g., from Row Y) is also a “1,” but the result of theAND operation should be a “0” if the data value stored in the senseamplifier 706 (e.g., from Row Y) is also a “0.” The sensing circuitry750 is configured such that if the dynamic latch of the accumulatorcontains a “1” (i.e., a voltage corresponding to a “1” on node S2 and avoltage corresponding to a “0” on node S1), transistor 709-1 does notconduct, the sense amplifier is not coupled to ground (as describedabove), and the data value previously stored in the sense amplifier 706remains unchanged (e.g., Row Y data value so the AND operation result isa “1” if the Row Y data value is a “1” and the AND operation result is a“0” if the Row Y data value is a “0”). This operation leaves the datavalue in the accumulator unchanged (e.g., from Row X).

After the result of the AND operation is initially stored in the senseamplifier 706, “Deactivate AND” in the pseudo code above indicates thatthe AND control signal goes low as shown at t₁₂ in FIG. 8A, causing passtransistor 707-1 to stop conducting to isolate the sense amplifier 706(and data line 705-1 (D)) from ground. If not previously done, Row Y canbe closed (as shown at t₁₃ in FIG. 8A) and the sense amplifier can bedisabled (as shown at t₁₄ in FIG. 8A by the ACT positive control signalgoing low and the RnIF negative control signal goes high). With the datalines isolated, “Precharge” in the pseudo code above can cause aprecharge of the data lines by an equilibrate operation, as describedpreviously (e.g., commencing at t₁₄ shown in FIG. 8A).

FIG. 8A shows, in the alternative, the behavior of voltage signals onthe data lines (e.g., 705-1 (D) and 705-2 (D_) shown in FIG. 7A) coupledto the sense amplifier (e.g., 706 shown in FIG. 7A) and the behavior ofvoltage signals on nodes S1 and S1 of the secondary latch of the computecomponent (e.g., 731 shown in FIG. 7A) for an AND logical operationinvolving each of the possible combination of operands (e.g., Row X/RowY data values 00, 10, 01, and 11).

Although the timing diagrams illustrated in FIG. 8A and the pseudo codedescribed above indicate initiating the AND logical operation afterstarting to load the second operand (e.g., Row Y data value) into thesense amplifier, the circuit shown in FIG. 7A can be successfullyoperated by initiating the AND logical operation before starting to loadthe second operand (e.g., Row Y data value) into the sense amplifier.

FIG. 8B illustrates a timing diagram associated with performing a numberof logical operations using sensing circuitry in accordance with anumber of embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8B illustrates atiming diagram associated with initiating an OR logical operation afterstarting to load the second operand (e.g., Row Y data value) into thesense amplifier. FIG. 8B illustrates the sense amplifier and accumulatorsignals for various combinations of first and second operand datavalues. The particular timing diagram signals are discussed below withrespect to the pseudo code associated with an AND logical operation ofthe circuit shown in FIG. 7A.

A subsequent operation phase can alternately be associated withperforming the OR operation on the first data value (now stored in thesense amplifier 706 and the secondary latch of the compute component731) and the second data value (stored in a memory cell 702-1 coupled toRow Y 704-Y). The operations to load the Row X data into the senseamplifier and accumulator that were previously described with respect totimes t₁-t₇ shown in FIG. 8A are not repeated with respect to FIG. 8B.Example pseudo code associated with “ORing” the data values can include:

Deactivate EQ Open Row Y Fire Sense Amps (after which Row Y data residesin the sense amps) Close Row Y    When Row Y is closed, the senseamplifier still contains the      Row Y data value. Activate OR    Thisresults in the sense amplifier being written to the value of the     function (e.g., Row X OR Row Y), which may overwrite the      datavalue from Row Y previously stored in the sense      amplifier asfollows:    If the accumulator contains a “0” (i.e., a voltagecorresponding to a      “0” on node S2 and a voltage corresponding to a“1” on node      S1), the sense amplifier data remains unchanged (Row Ydata)    If the accumulator contains a “1” (i.e., a voltagecorresponding to a      “1” on node S2 and a voltage corresponding to a“0” on node      S1), the sense amplifier data is written to a “1”   This operation leaves the data in the accumulator unchanged.Deactivate OR Precharge

The “Deactivate EQ” (shown at t₈ in FIG. 8B), “Open Row Y” (shown at t₉in FIG. 8B), “Fire Sense Amps” (shown at t₁₀ in FIG. 8B), and “Close RowY” (shown at t₁₃ in FIG. 8B, and which may occur prior to initiating theparticular logical function control signal), shown in the pseudo codeabove indicate the same functionality as previously described withrespect to the AND operation pseudo code. Once the configuration ofselected Row Y is appropriately configured (e.g., enabled if logicaloperation result is to be stored in memory cell corresponding to Row Yor closed to isolate memory cell if result if logical operation resultis not to be stored in memory cell corresponding to Row Y), “ActivateOR” in the pseudo code above indicates that the OR control signal goeshigh as shown at t₁₁ in FIG. 8B, which causes pass transistor 707-2 toconduct. In this manner, activating the OR control signal causes thevalue of the function (e.g., Row X OR Row Y) to be written to the senseamp.

With the first data value (e.g., Row X) stored in the secondary latch ofthe compute component 731 and the second data value (e.g., Row Y) storedin the sense amplifier 706, if the dynamic latch of the accumulatorcontains a “0” (i.e., a voltage corresponding to a “0” on node S2 and avoltage corresponding to a “1” on node S1), then the result of the ORoperation depends on the data value stored in the sense amplifier 706(e.g., from Row Y). The result of the OR operation should be a “1” ifthe data value stored in the sense amplifier 706 (e.g., from Row Y) is a“1,” but the result of the OR operation should be a “0” if the datavalue stored in the sense amplifier 706 (e.g., from Row Y) is also a“0.” The sensing circuitry 750 is configured such that if the dynamiclatch of the accumulator contains a “0,” with the voltage correspondingto a “0” on node S2, transistor 709-2 is off and does not conduct (andpass transistor 707-1 is also off since the AND control signal is notasserted) so the sense amplifier 706 is not coupled to ground (eitherside), and the data value previously stored in the sense amplifier 706remains unchanged (e.g., Row Y data value such that the OR operationresult is a “1” if the Row Y data value is a “1” and the OR operationresult is a “0” if the Row Y data value is a “0”).

If the dynamic latch of the accumulator contains a “1” (i.e., a voltagecorresponding to a “1” on node S2 and a voltage corresponding to a “0”on node S1), transistor 709-2 does conduct (as does pass transistor707-2 since the OR control signal is asserted), and the sense amplifier706 input coupled to data line 705-2 (D_) is coupled to ground since thevoltage corresponding to a “1” on node S2 causes transistor 709-2 toconduct along with pass transistor 707-2 (which also conducts since theOR control signal is asserted). In this manner, a “1” is initiallystored in the sense amplifier 706 as a result of the OR operation whenthe secondary latch of the accumulator contains a “1” regardless of thedata value previously stored in the sense amp. This operation leaves thedata in the accumulator unchanged. FIG. 8B shows, in the alternative,the behavior of voltage signals on the data lines (e.g., 705-1 (D) and705-2 (D_) shown in FIG. 7A) coupled to the sense amplifier (e.g., 706shown in FIG. 7A) and the behavior of voltage signals on nodes S1 and S2of the secondary latch of the compute component 731 for an OR logicaloperation involving each of the possible combination of operands (e.g.,Row X/Row Y data values 00, 10, 01, and 11).

After the result of the OR operation is initially stored in the senseamplifier 706, “Deactivate OR” in the pseudo code above indicates thatthe OR control signal goes low as shown at t₁₂ in FIG. 8B, causing passtransistor 707-2 to stop conducting to isolate the sense amplifier 706(and data line D 705-2) from ground. If not previously done, Row Y canbe closed (as shown at t₁₃ in FIG. 8B) and the sense amplifier can bedisabled (as shown at t₁₄ in FIG. 8B by the ACT positive control signalgoing low and the RnIF negative control signal going high). With thedata lines isolated, “Precharge” in the pseudo code above can cause aprecharge of the data lines by an equilibrate operation, as describedpreviously and shown at t₁₄ in FIG. 8B.

The sensing circuitry 750 illustrated in FIG. 7A can provide additionallogical operations flexibility as follows. By substituting operation ofthe ANDinv control signal for operation of the AND control signal,and/or substituting operation of the ORinv control signal for operationof the OR control signal in the AND and OR operations described above,the logical operations can be changed from {Row X AND Row Y} to {˜Row XAND Row Y} (where “˜Row X” indicates an opposite of the Row X datavalue, e.g., NOT Row X) and can be changed from {Row X OR Row Y} to{˜Row X OR Row Y}. For example, during an AND operation involving theinverted data values, the ANDinv control signal can be asserted insteadof the AND control signal, and during an OR operation involving theinverted data values, the ORinv control signal can be asserted insteadof the OR control signal. Activating the ORinv control signal causestransistor 714-1 to conduct and activating the ANDinv control signalcauses transistor 714-2 to conduct. In each case, asserting theappropriate inverted control signal can flip the sense amplifier andcause the result initially stored in the sense amplifier 706 to be thatof the AND operation using inverted Row X and true Row Y data values orthat of the OR operation using the inverted Row X and true Row Y datavalues. A true or compliment version of one data value can be used inthe accumulator to perform the logical operation (e.g., AND, OR), forexample, by loading a data value to be inverted first and a data valuethat is not to be inverted second.

In a similar approach to that described above with respect to invertingthe data values for the AND and OR operations described above, thesensing circuitry shown in FIG. 7A can perform a NOT (e.g., invert)operation by putting the non-inverted data value into the dynamic latchof the accumulator and using that data to invert the data value in thesense amplifier 706. As previously mentioned, activating the ORinvcontrol signal causes transistor 714-1 to conduct and activating theANDinv control signal causes transistor 714-2 to conduct. The ORinvand/or ANDinv control signals are used in implementing the NOT function,as described further below:

Copy Row X into the Accumulator    Deactivate EQ    Open Row X    FireSense Amps (after which Row X data resides in the sense    amps)   Activate LOAD (sense amplifier data (Row X) is transferred to     nodes S1 and S2 of the Accumulator and resides there     dynamically    Deactivate LOAD    Activate ANDinv and ORinv (whichputs the compliment data      value S1 on the data lines)      S1 Thisresults in the data value in the sense amplifier being      inverted S1(e.g., the sense amplifier latch is flipped)      S1 This operationleaves the data in the accumulator unchanged    Deactivate ANDinv andORinv    Close Row X    Precharge

The “Deactivate EQ,” “Open Row X,” “Fire Sense Amps,” “Activate LOAD,”and “Deactivate LOAD” shown in the pseudo code above indicate the samefunctionality as the same operations in the pseudo code for the “CopyRow X into the Accumulator” initial operation phase described aboveprior to pseudo code for the AND operation and OR operation. However,rather than closing the Row X and Precharging after the Row X data isloaded into the sense amplifier 706 and copied into the dynamic latch, acompliment version of the data value in the dynamic latch of theaccumulator can be placed on the data line and thus transferred to thesense amplifier 706 by enabling (e.g., causing transistor to conduct)and disabling the invert transistors (e.g., ANDinv and ORinv). Thisresults in the sense amplifier 706 being flipped from the true datavalue that was previously stored in the sense amplifier to a complimentdata value (e.g., inverted data value) stored in the sense amp. That is,a true or compliment version of the data value in the accumulator can betransferred to the sense amplifier by activating and deactivating ANDinvand ORinv. This operation leaves the data in the accumulator unchanged.

Because the sensing circuitry 750 shown in FIG. 7A initially stores theresult of the AND, OR, and NOT logical operations in the sense amplifier706 (e.g., on the sense amplifier nodes), these logical operationresults can be communicated easily and quickly to any enabled row, anyrow activated after the logical operation is complete, and/or into thesecondary latch of the compute component 731. The sense amplifier 706and sequencing for the AND, OR, and/or NOT logical operations can alsobe interchanged by appropriate firing of the AND, OR, ANDinv, and/orORinv control signals (and operation of corresponding transistors havinga gate coupled to the particular control signal) before the senseamplifier 706 fires.

When performing logical operations in this manner, the sense amplifier706 can be pre-seeded with a data value from the dynamic latch of theaccumulator to reduce overall current utilized because the sense amps706 are not at full rail voltages (e.g., supply voltage orground/reference voltage) when accumulator function is copied to thesense amplifier 706. An operation sequence with a pre-seeded senseamplifier 706 either forces one of the data lines to the referencevoltage (leaving the complementary data line at V_(DD)/2, or leaves thecomplementary data lines unchanged. The sense amplifier 706 pulls therespective data lines to full rails when the sense amplifier 706 fires.Using this sequence of operations will overwrite data in an enabled row.

A SHIFT operation can be accomplished by multiplexing (“muxing”) twoneighboring data line complementary pairs using a traditional DRAMisolation (ISO) scheme. According to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the shift circuitry 723 can be used for shifting data valuesstored in memory cells coupled to a particular pair of complementarydata lines to the sensing circuitry 750 (e.g., sense amplifier 706)corresponding to a different pair of complementary data lines (e.g.,such as a sense amplifier 706 corresponding to a left or right adjacentpair of complementary data lines. As used herein, a sense amplifier 706corresponds to the pair of complementary data lines to which the senseamplifier is coupled when isolation transistors 721-1 and 721-2 areconducting. The SHIFT operations (right or left) do not pre-copy the RowX data value into the accumulator. Operations to shift right Row X canbe summarized as follows:

Deactivate Norm and Activate Shift Deactivate EQ Open Row X Fire SenseAmps (after which shifted Row X data resides in the sense amps) ActivateNorm and Deactivate Shift Close Row X Precharge

In the pseudo code above, “Deactivate Norm and Activate Shift” indicatesthat a NORM control signal goes low causing isolation transistors 721-1and 721-2 of the shift circuitry 723 to not conduct (e.g., isolate thesense amplifier from the corresponding pair of complementary datalines). The SHIFT control signal goes high causing isolation transistors721-3 and 721-4 to conduct, thereby coupling the sense amplifier 706 tothe left adjacent pair of complementary data lines (e.g., on the memoryarray side of non-conducting isolation transistors 721-1 and 721-2 forthe left adjacent pair of complementary data lines).

After the shift circuitry 723 is configured, the “Deactivate EQ,” “OpenRow X,” and “Fire Sense Amps” shown in the pseudo code above indicatethe same functionality as the same operations in the pseudo code for the“Copy Row X into the Accumulator” initial operation phase describedabove prior to pseudo code for the AND operation and OR operation. Afterthese operations, the Row X data value for the memory cell coupled tothe left adjacent pair of complementary data lines is shifted right andstored in the sense amplifier 706.

In the pseudo code above, “Activate Norm and Deactivate Shift” indicatesthat a NORM control signal goes high causing isolation transistors 721-1and 721-2 of the shift circuitry 723 to conduct (e.g., coupling thesense amplifier to the corresponding pair of complementary data lines),and the SHIFT control signal goes low causing isolation transistors721-3 and 721-4 to not conduct and isolating the sense amplifier 706from the left adjacent pair of complementary data lines (e.g., on thememory array side of non-conducting isolation transistors 721-1 and721-2 for the left adjacent pair of complementary data lines). Since RowX is still active, the Row X data value that has been shifted right istransferred to Row X of the corresponding pair of complementary datalines through isolation transistors 721-1 and 721-2.

After the Row X data values are shifted right to the corresponding pairof complementary data lines, the selected row (e.g., ROW X) is disabledas indicated by “Close Row X” in the pseudo code above, which can beaccomplished by the access transistor turning off to decouple theselected cell from the corresponding data line. Once the selected row isclosed and the memory cell is isolated from the data lines, the datalines can be precharged as indicated by the “Precharge” in the pseudocode above. A precharge of the data lines can be accomplished by anequilibrate operation, as described above.

Operations to shift left Row X can be summarized as follows:

Activate Norm and Deactivate Shift Deactivate EQ Open Row X Fire SenseAmps (after which Row X data resides in the sense amps) Deactivate Normand Activate Shift    Sense amplifier data (shifted left Row X) istransferred to Row X Close Row X Precharge

In the pseudo code above, “Activate Norm and Deactivate Shift” indicatesthat a NORM control signal goes high causing isolation transistors 721-1and 721-2 of the shift circuitry 723 to conduct, and the SHIFT controlsignal goes low causing isolation transistors 721-3 and 721-4 to notconduct. This configuration couples the sense amplifier 706 to acorresponding pair of complementary data lines and isolates the senseamplifier from the right adjacent pair of complementary data lines.

After the shift circuitry is configured, the “Deactivate EQ,” “Open RowX,” and “Fire Sense Amps” shown in the pseudo code above indicate thesame functionality as the same operations in the pseudo code for the“Copy Row X into the Accumulator” initial operation phase describedabove prior to pseudo code for the AND operation and OR operation. Afterthese operations, the Row X data value for the memory cell coupled tothe pair of complementary data lines corresponding to the sensecircuitry 750 is stored in the sense amplifier 706.

In the pseudo code above, “Deactivate Norm and Activate Shift” indicatesthat a NORM control signal goes low causing isolation transistors 721-1and 721-2 of the shift circuitry 723 to not conduct (e.g., isolate thesense amplifier from the corresponding pair of complementary datalines), and the SHIFT control signal goes high causing isolationtransistors 721-3 and 721-4 to conduct coupling the sense amplifier tothe left adjacent pair of complementary data lines (e.g., on the memoryarray side of non-conducting isolation transistors 721-1 and 721-2 forthe left adjacent pair of complementary data lines. Since Row X is stillactive, the Row X data value that has been shifted left is transferredto Row X of the left adjacent pair of complementary data lines.

After the Row X data values are shifted left to the left adjacent pairof complementary data lines, the selected row (e.g., ROW X) is disabledas indicated by “Close Row X,” which can be accomplished by the accesstransistor turning off to decouple the selected cell from thecorresponding data line. Once the selected row is closed and the memorycell is isolated from the data lines, the data lines can be prechargedas indicated by the “Precharge” in the pseudo code above. A precharge ofthe data lines can be accomplished by an equilibrate operation, asdescribed above.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating sensing circuitry havingselectable logical operation selection logic in accordance with a numberof embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 shows a sense amplifier906 coupled to a pair of complementary sense lines 905-1 and 905-2, anda compute component 931 coupled to the sense amplifier 906 via passgates 907-1 and 907-2. The gates of the pass gates 907-1 and 907-2 canbe controlled by a logical operation selection logic signal, PASS, whichcan be output from logical operation selection logic 913-5. FIG. 9 showsthe compute component 931 labeled “A” and the sense amplifier 906labeled “B” to indicate that the data value stored in the computecomponent 931 is the “A” data value and the data value stored in thesense amplifier 906 is the “B” data value shown in the logic tablesillustrated with respect to FIG. 10.

The sensing circuitry 950 illustrated in FIG. 9 includes logicaloperation selection logic 913-5. In this example, the logic 913-5comprises swap gates 942 controlled by a logical operation selectionlogic signal PASS*. The logical operation selection logic 913-5 alsocomprises four logic selection transistors: logic selection transistor962 coupled between the gates of the swap transistors 942 and a TFsignal control line, logic selection transistor 952 coupled between thegates of the pass gates 907-1 and 907-2 and a TT signal control line,logic selection transistor 954 coupled between the gates of the passgates 907-1 and 907-2 and a FT signal control line, and logic selectiontransistor 964 coupled between the gates of the swap transistors 942 anda FF signal control line. Gates of logic selection transistors 962 and952 are coupled to the true sense line (e.g., 905-1) through isolationtransistor 950-1 (having a gate coupled to an ISO signal control line),and gates of logic selection transistors 964 and 954 are coupled to thecomplementary sense line (e.g., 905-2) through isolation transistor950-2 (also having a gate coupled to an ISO signal control line).

Logic selection transistors 952 and 954 are arranged similarly totransistor 707-1 (coupled to an AND signal control line) and transistor707-2 (coupled to an OR signal control line) respectively, as shown inFIG. 7A. Operation of logic selection transistors 952 and 954 aresimilar based on the state of the TT and FT selection signals and thedata values on the respective complementary sense lines at the time theISO signal is asserted. Logic selection transistors 962 and 964 alsooperate in a similar manner to control continuity of the swaptransistors 942. That is, to OPEN (e.g., turn on) the swap transistors942, either the TF control signal is activated (e.g., high) with datavalue on the true sense line being “1,” or the FF control signal isactivated (e.g., high) with the data value on the complement sense linebeing “1.” If either the respective control signal or the data value onthe corresponding sense line (e.g., sense line to which the gate of theparticular logic selection transistor is coupled) is not high, then theswap transistors 942 will not be OPENed by a particular logic selectiontransistor.

The PASS* control signal is not necessarily complementary to the PASScontrol signal. For instance, it is possible for the PASS and PASS*control signals to both be activated or both be deactivated at the sametime. However, activation of both the PASS and PASS* control signals atthe same time shorts the pair of complementary sense lines together,which may be a disruptive configuration to be avoided. Logicaloperations results for the sensing circuitry illustrated in FIG. 9 aresummarized in the logic table illustrated in FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is a logic table illustrating selectable logic operation resultsimplementable by the sensing circuitry shown in FIG. 9 in accordancewith a number of embodiments of the present disclosure. The four logicselection control signals (e.g., TF, TT, FT, and FF), in conjunctionwith a particular data value present on the complementary sense lines,can be used to select one of plural logical operations to implementinvolving the starting data values stored in the sense amplifier 906 andcompute component 931. The four control signals, in conjunction with aparticular data value present on the complementary sense lines, controlsthe continuity of the pass gates 907-1 and 907-2 and swap transistors942, which in turn affects the data value in the compute component 931and/or sense amplifier 906 before/after firing. The capability toselectably control continuity of the swap transistors 942 facilitatesimplementing logical operations involving inverse data values (e.g.,inverse operands and/or inverse result), among others.

The logic table illustrated in FIG. 10 shows the starting data valuestored in the compute component 931 shown in column A at 1044, and thestarting data value stored in the sense amplifier 906 shown in column Bat 1045. The other 3 top column headings (NOT OPEN, OPEN TRUE, and OPENINVERT) in the logic table of FIG. 10 refer to the continuity of thepass gates 907-1 and 907-2, and the swap transistors 942, which canrespectively be controlled to be OPEN or CLOSED depending on the stateof the four logic selection control signals (e.g., TF, TT, FT, and FF),in conjunction with a particular data value present on the pair ofcomplementary sense lines 905-1 and 905-2 when the ISO control signal isasserted. The “Not Open” column corresponds to the pass gates 907-1 and907-2 and the swap transistors 942 both being in a non-conductingcondition, the “Open True” corresponds to the pass gates 907-1 and 907-2being in a conducting condition, and the “Open Invert” corresponds tothe swap transistors 942 being in a conducting condition. Theconfiguration corresponding to the pass gates 907-1 and 907-2 and theswap transistors 942 both being in a conducting condition is notreflected in the logic table of FIG. 10 since this results in the senselines being shorted together.

Via selective control of the continuity of the pass gates 907-1 and907-2 and the swap transistors 942, each of the three columns of thefirst set of two rows of the upper portion of the logic table of FIG. 10can be combined with each of the three columns of the second set of tworows below the first set to provide 3×3=9 different result combinations,corresponding to nine different logical operations, as indicated by thevarious connecting paths shown at 1075. The nine different selectablelogical operations that can be implemented by the sensing circuitry 950are summarized in the logic table illustrated in FIG. 13.

The columns of the lower portion of the logic table illustrated in FIG.10 show a heading 1080 that includes the state of logic selectioncontrol signals. For example, the state of a first logic selectioncontrol signal is provided in row 1076, the state of a second logicselection control signal is provided in row 1077, the state of a thirdlogic selection control signal is provided in row 1078, and the state ofa fourth logic selection control signal is provided in row 1079. Theparticular logical operation corresponding to the results is summarizedin row 1047.

As such, the sensing circuitry shown in FIG. 9 can be used to performvarious logical operations as shown in FIG. 10. For example, the sensingcircuitry 950 can be operated to perform various logical operations(e.g., AND and OR logical operations) in association with comparing datapatterns in memory in accordance with a number of embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

According to various embodiments, general computing can be enabled in amemory array core of a processor-in-memory (PIM) device such as a DRAMone transistor per memory cell (e.g., 1T1C) configuration at 6F̂2 or 4F̂2memory cell sizes, for example. The advantage of the apparatuses andmethods described herein is not realized in terms of single instructionspeed, but rather the cumulative speed that can be achieved by an entirebank of data being computed in parallel without ever transferring dataout of the memory array (e.g., DRAM) or firing a column decode. In otherwords, data transfer time can be eliminated. For example, apparatus ofthe present disclosure can perform ANDs or ORs simultaneously using datavalues in memory cells coupled to a data line (e.g., a column of 16Kmemory cells).

In previous approach sensing circuits where data is moved out forlogical operation processing (e.g., using 32 or 64 bit registers), feweroperations can be performed in parallel compared to the apparatus of thepresent disclosure. In this manner, significantly higher throughput iseffectively provided in contrast to conventional configurationsinvolving a central processing unit (CPU) discrete from the memory suchthat data must be transferred therebetween. An apparatus and/or methodsaccording to the present disclosure can also use less energy/area thanconfigurations where the CPU is discrete from the memory. Furthermore,an apparatus and/or methods of the present disclosure can improve uponthe smaller energy/area advantages since the in-memory-array logicaloperations save energy by eliminating certain data value transfers.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that anarrangement calculated to achieve the same results can be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coveradaptations or variations of one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is to be understood that the above description has beenmade in an illustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combinationof the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specificallydescribed herein will be apparent to those of skill in the art uponreviewing the above description. The scope of the one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure includes other applications inwhich the above structures and methods are used. Therefore, the scope ofone or more embodiments of the present disclosure should be determinedwith reference to the appended claims, along with the full range ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, some features are groupedtogether in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the disclosed embodiments of the presentdisclosure have to use more features than are expressly recited in eachclaim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matterlies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus,the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment.

1. A method for comparing data patterns, comprising: comparing, insensing circuitry, a number of data patterns stored in a memory array toa target data pattern; and determining whether a data pattern of thenumber of data patterns matches the target data pattern withouttransferring data from the memory array via an input/output (I/O) line.2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the data patternof the number of data patterns matches the target data pattern withouttransferring data from the memory array via an input/output (I/O) linecomprises determining whether the data pattern of the number of datapatterns matches the target data pattern without transferring data via asense line address access.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein comparingthe number of data patterns stored in the memory array to the targetdata pattern comprises performing a particular number of operationsusing the sensing circuitry, wherein the particular number of operationsis based on a number of data units of the target data pattern.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein an amount of time to compare the number ofdata patterns stored in the memory array to the target data pattern isindependent of the number of data patterns.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein: the number of data patterns each comprise a plurality of dataunits, and each of the plurality of data units of a particular one ofthe number of data patterns is stored in a different memory cell coupledto a same sense line of the array.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein afirst data unit of the plurality of data units of each of the number ofdata patterns is stored in a respective memory cell coupled to a firstaccess line of the array and a second data unit of each of the number ofdata patterns is stored in a respective memory cell coupled to a secondaccess line.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the number ofdata patterns comprises comparing a data value of each data unit of thedata patterns stored in memory cells coupled to an access line to afirst data value of the target data pattern.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the first data value comprises a “0.”
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein the access line corresponds to a data unit of the target datapattern having the first data value.
 10. The method of claim 9,comprising repeating comparisons of data values of data units stored inmemory cells coupled to additional access lines of the memory array thatcorrespond to data units of the target data pattern that have the firstdata value.
 11. The method of claim 10, comprising accumulating valuesfrom the repeated comparisons in sensing circuitry coupled to the memoryarray.
 12. The method of claim 11, comprising inverting the accumulatedvalues in sensing circuitry coupled to the memory array.
 13. The methodof claim 12, wherein comparing the number of data patterns comprisescomparing a data value of each data unit of the data patterns stored inmemory cells coupled to another access line to a second data value ofthe target data pattern that is different than the first data value. 14.The method of claim 13, wherein the second data value comprises a “1.”15. The method of claim 13, wherein comparing the number of datapatterns comprises comparing a data value of each data unit stored inmemory cells coupled to another additional access line that correspondsto a data unit of the target data pattern that has the second datavalue.
 16. The method of claim 13, comprising repeating comparisons ofdata values of data units of the data patterns stored in memory cellscoupled to other additional access lines of the memory array thatcorrespond to data units of the target data pattern that have the seconddata value. 17.-20. (canceled)
 21. An apparatus, comprising: an array ofmemory cells configured to store a plurality of data patterns; and acontroller configured to operate sensing circuitry coupled to the arrayto: compare a target data pattern to the plurality of data patternsstored in the array; and determine whether one or more data pattern ofthe plurality of data patterns matches the target data pattern withouttransferring data from the array via an input/output (I/O) line.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 21, wherein the controller is configured to operatethe sensing circuitry to compare the target data pattern to theplurality of data patterns, in parallel, via execution of a quantity ofcompare operations, and wherein the quantity of compare operations isequal to a quantity of data units corresponding to the plurality of datapatterns.
 23. A system, comprising: a host; and a memory device coupledto the host and configured to compare, in parallel, a target datapattern to a plurality of data patterns stored in an array of the memorydevice by: performing, at most, N compare operations, wherein N is aquantity of data units of the plurality of data patterns, and whereinthe quantity of compare operations is independent of the quantity ofdata patterns being compared to the target data pattern; and determiningwhether one or more of the plurality of data patterns matches the targetdata pattern without transferring data from the array to the host via aninput/output (I/O) line.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the hostcomprises a processing resource external to the memory device.